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THIS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT (the "Agreement") is dated this ________ day of ________________, ________.
IN CONSIDERATION OF the matters described above and of the mutual benefits and obligations set forth in this Agreement, the receipt and sufficiency of which consideration is hereby acknowledged, the Client and the Contractor (individually the "Party" and collectively the "Parties" to this Agreement) agree as follows:
or to such other address as either Party may from time to time notify the other, and will be deemed to be properly delivered (a) immediately upon being served personally, (b) two days after being deposited with the postal service if served by registered mail, or (c) the following day after being deposited with an overnight courier.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Parties have duly affixed their signatures under hand and seal on this ________ day of ________________, ________.
An Independent Contractor Agreement is also known as a:
Also known as a consultant or freelancer, an independent contractor is a business or individual that is typically self-employed and provides a product or service for a customer in exchange for monetary compensation.
An Independent Contractor Agreement is a written contract that spells out the terms of the working arrangement between a contractor and client, including:
Contractors, freelancers, or consultants who wish to have a written agreement with their client can create an Independent Contractor Agreement. Likewise, customers, clients, or businesses who hire contractors and wish to outline the service arrangement through a written contract.
While there are many ways to distinguish an employee from a contractor, here are some of the most common ways an employer (or client) can differentiate between the two types of workers.
Independent Contractor
Employee
Keeping track of who is an employee and who is a contractor ensures a business is in a position to file taxes properly and comply with employment law.
Employers must pay a portion of payroll taxes on employees, whereas independent contractors conduct their own personal tax filings.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) conduct regular company audits with the goal of finding employees who have been misclassified as contractors.
The consequences for such misclassifications can range in severity depending on whether or not the misclassification is intentional, unintentional, or fraudulent.
The ramifications for classifying employees as independent contractors can include:
The IRS might also impose additional fines and penalties if they suspect fraud or intentional employee misclassification.
Confidentiality is a concern for customers who may be entrusting private or sensitive information to an independent contractor who has been hired to carry out a service for the company.
In a contractor agreement, you can include terms to prevent a freelancer from divulging information about your business. There are also terms about non-solicitation and non-competition in the event there are conflicts of interest in the industry or a risk of competition. It should be noted that if the contractor fails to comply with these terms, it would put them in breach of the contract.
Under U.S. copyright law the initial owner of the copyright in a "work for hire" is the person commissioning the work and not the person who actually created the work.
Section 101 of the Copyright Act defines a "work for hire" to include work by employees in the course of employment, including creative work developed by an independent contractor in certain circumstances like a translation, a contribution to a collective work, and more.
Alternatively, this contractor agreement can be tailored so the contractor retains complete ownership of the intellectual property but gives the company license to use the material.
Sample
Independent Contractor Agreement
Create Your Independent Contractor Agreement
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