2015 is fast approaching and if you’re a new business, you might be contemplating whether to hire your first employees or independent contractors.  The…Read more

The audit process is no picnic. It is invasive. It is disruptive to your business. It raises real dangers of being assessed substantial  tax…Read more

Seattle this month enacted legislation to phase in a $15 minimum wage for employees over the next several years.  A summary of the legislation…Read more

State independent contractor tests indicate when a worker is exempt from paying employment taxes—i.e. L&I’s workers compensation taxes and ESD’s unemployment insurance premiums—on grounds…Read more

Perhaps the single-most greatest indicator of a business’s ability to pass an independent contractor audit by Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), Employment Security…Read more

Working with independent contractors has its share of pitfalls – pitfalls that subject businesses to substantial financial and legal consequences.  Here, in no particular order…Read more

Businesses understand clearly that they need to be careful about who they classify as independent contractors.  They further understand that if they mess up,…Read more

Do your contractors have UBI/Department of Revenue registration numbers for the business they conduct? While answering this question in the affirmative is no guarantee…Read more

Mercer Law is pleased to announce that Aimee Hou — a former Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) Audit Supervisor — has…Read more

“I know it doesn’t make sense, but here is what the law says, and how it is interpreted by auditors.” In some form or…Read more