Canadian law distinguishes between employees and independent contractors, as well as the conditions of their work and the employer’s responsibility for them. In Chen’s case, there are two sides to the issue as she worked as an independent contractor, but there are many indications that she was an employee. Consequently, Chen, as an independent contractor, cannot report to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for Homes, but she can report that she was misidentified as an independent contractor instead of an employee.
Chen, as an independent contractor, has no right or opportunity to complain against her employer. For example, Chen is not paid overtime, but this is not required by law. Responsibility for the failure to remit last year’s income taxes also lies with Chen but not the company. At the same time, an independent contractor cannot sue for wrongful dismissal, although an employee has such a right. For this reason, Chen can report that her working conditions do not meet those of an independent contractor; therefore, the company had to identify her as an employee with the appropriate benefits and pay taxes on her. Evidence for this claim is that the company entirely dictated how the work had to be performed in Chen’s contract and determined her working hours. However, an independent contractor can determine these conditions by herself.
Consequently, if Chen can prove that she and other independent contractors are, in fact, in the employee position, then the company could be accused of tax evasion. Since independent contractors pay lower taxes, the company has saved money by avoiding it. Thus, one can point out that the law in business regulates both the fair treatment of labor and just payment of taxes, which benefits the state.