Unemployment requirements for independent contractors

In Massachusetts, employers must prove workers are independent contractors. Learn more about that process.

In Massachusetts, wages paid to independent contractors can’t be used to establish an unemployment claim.

Work is only considered independent contracting if it is:

1. Done free from the “direction and control” of the employer, AND
2. Performed either outside the usual course of the employer’s business or outside of all of the places of business of the employer, AND
3. Work done by someone who does the same kind of work for the employer as they regularly do for their independent business

It is the employer’s responsibility to prove that any wages earned by independent contractors meet all three of these criteria. A claimant will be considered an employee unless the employer proves the individual is an independent contractor using all of the factors in the test. NOTE: that whether a person is paid using a 1099 is not part of the test.

Workers who aren’t sure if they were an independent contractor should still apply for unemployment benefits.