Let’s say someone owns a hairstylist shop. They have people who come in and cut hair but they pay them on a 1099 basis. However, they require them to be there at certain times and perform work that would be considered out of the scope of the contract. They require this by threats and intimidation.
They pay by 1099 in order to not have to pay social security taxes, etc. Would these contractors then be considered employees by the federal government since they are expected to ONLY work for this shop, attend to duties not related to their contract and be there at particular times as an employee would.
At one time some of the contractors left and went to other shops. The owner of the shop followed them to the other shop and stood outside staring at them, making gestures, and threatened them via text messages.
Is there a federal agency that could be notified for the apparent labor law violations and possibly a state agency in Texas that would investigate anything else?
How hard would it be to use the Texas stalking laws against them for the harassment and would they have to be notified first in some manner?
