Non Payment of Wages Under 1099 Agreement
I signed a 1099 contract for consulting work, but the employer never returned a signed copy. It states that as a 1099 - I am obligated to work a min of 4 weeks to be paid. I worked 59 hours and had a family emergency that required I leave the job. In that 59 hrs that I worked, I delivered tangible intellectual capital that will be of use to the client company. Can I pursue this through small claims court as the client compnay received fair value for the effort put forth, and I never received a properly executed contract back from the recruiting firm?
1 answer | asked Nov 30, 2004 10:35 AM [EST] | applies to Texas
Answers (1)
payment for contract services
You contracted with this company as an independent contractor. An independent contractor is not an employee, and the payment due from a company to an independent contractor is determined by the terms of the contract agreement itself. Even though you do not have a signed copy of the final contract, we can probably legally infer acceptance from the fact that the company accepted services from you. The larger problem is whether you can obtain pay for partial fulfillment of the contract. Since the contract itself specifies no payment unless four full weeks of service have been completed, you will probably have to argue one of two theories: 1, that you were not truly an independent contractor and therefore are entitled to wages for time worked, OR 2, that your failure to complete the contract was due to impossibility of performance and that the company would be unjustly enriched if they failed to pay for the value they received. The exact wording of your contract is critical to determining your legal options. What I would suggest you do at this point is determine what $$ value your services were worth, and invoice the company for that amount, with an explanation of hos you arrived at the amount. I assume that you have already spoken to the company about why you were unable to complete the contract and that you left on generally good terms. If the company refuses payment in reliance on your contract terms, you’ll need to have a lawyer take a look at it and see if you have any legal recourse.
posted by Pamela Parker | Dec 1, 2004 4:11 PM [EST]
You contracted with this company as an independent contractor. An independent contractor is not an employee, and the payment due from a company to an independent contractor is determined by the terms of the contract agreement itself. Even though you do not have a signed copy of the final contract, we can probably legally infer acceptance from the fact that the company accepted services from you. The larger problem is whether you can obtain pay for partial fulfillment of the contract. Since the contract itself specifies no payment unless four full weeks of service have been completed, you will probably have to argue one of two theories: 1, that you were not truly an independent contractor and therefore are entitled to wages for time worked, OR 2, that your failure to complete the contract was due to impossibility of performance and that the company would be unjustly enriched if they failed to pay for the value they received. The exact wording of your contract is critical to determining your legal options. What I would suggest you do at this point is determine what $$ value your services were worth, and invoice the company for that amount, with an explanation of hos you arrived at the amount. I assume that you have already spoken to the company about why you were unable to complete the contract and that you left on generally good terms. If the company refuses payment in reliance on your contract terms, you’ll need to have a lawyer take a look at it and see if you have any legal recourse.
posted by Pamela Parker | Dec 1, 2004 4:11 PM [EST]
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