Legal Question in Employment Law in Georgia

It appears your employer is calling you an independent contractor. When an individual is an independent contractor he is not eligible for the benefits of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The question of whether an individual is an independent contractor or an employee is settled by reference to the criteria set by the US Department of Labor and by the IRS. The tests boil down to the extent to which the individual employee has control over the profits that he makes in the arrangement. I.e., can you hire other individuals to work for you in the business ? Can you affect your profits or losses by decisions you make regarding your business, or is your income pretty much determined by the number of hours that you work? Do you supply your own equipment etc. that is necessary for your job? Can you work for the newspaper's competitors at the same time that you're working for the newspaper (i.e., can you also distribute other newspapers?). How much control does the employer exercise over the manner and method you use to perform your job? All these questions will determine whether you are in fact an independent contractor or an employee. If you are an employee, you may be covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act. This means that the employer must pay you for all of the time you actually work, plus 150% of your hourly rate for each hour you work past 40 hours in a 7 day pay period. Since I don't know exactly what you do for the newspaper, I don't know whether you would fall within the exemptions for newspaper carriers. To be exempt the employer has to prove that you meet every part of the exemption.

This is what the Department of Labor says about the newspaper carrier exemption:

"Minors employed in the delivery of newspapers to consumers are exempt from Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) child labor provisions, as well as the wage and hours provisions. This exemption applies to carriers engaged in making deliveries to the homes of subscribers or other consumers of newspapers (including shopping news). It also includes employees engaged in the street sale or delivery of newspapers to the consumer. However, employees engaged in hauling newspapers to drop stations, distributing centers, and newsstands are not exempted because they do not deliver to the consumer."