Legal Question in Employment Law in Texas

I am an assistant to a Texas business owner, but I am a "contract employee" and he takes out no taxes. I pay for my entire cell phone bill which I can't conduct business without, as we do not have a land line in the office, I constantly have to check directions on the go, and touch base while on errands with my boss or clients. The car I drive is leased in the company name, the insurance is in my boss' name with me as an authorized driver, and I make the entire lease payment on the vehicle, while my boss has been paying the insurance. When he leased the car, he added on a separate maintenance plan which is factored into my monthly payment--- so I pay for the routine maintenance of the vehicle. He now wants me to pay for the insurance, too. I know that he will get a huge tax break for everything that I have pain into the car. I detail my mileage and I am paid the federal rate of $0.555/mile. I am responsible for keeping a log of my time (in 15 minute increments) that I enter into an excel spreadsheet which I built, and for calculating all of the hours, mileage, reimbursements for the week (when I had to use my own card for a purchase), and my deductions. My boss will not pay me for inputting my time. Since I cannot do my time sheet at work, I wind up doing it at home the night before I turn it in. Since I cannot do it as I go, it winds up taking me hours to go through my week and calculate everything. My question is: Does my boss have to pay for my cell phone? Who should be paying for the insurance? If I allow him to pay for my gas (rather than detail my mileage), would he then be responsible for paying the maintenance and insurance, since that is what the $0.555 is supposed to cover? He pays me on one check (hours plus mileage minus car minus insurance), so will I be taxed on what I am paying to drive this car? Am I correct in assuming that he has to pay me for my time keeping/accounting? I have kept a log of the time I have spent on entering in time into my timesheets.


Asked on 7/11/12, 3:13 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Fini Thomas FT LAW FIRM (www.ftfirm.com)

Even though your boss considers you as a "independent contractor", you may be entitled to be treated as an "employee" and benefit from laws applicable to employer-employee relationships. Please contact me for a free consultation at (214) 449-0007 or by email at: [email protected] to discuss.

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Answered on 7/18/12, 1:06 pm


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