Who remembers the song, “Take This Job and Shove It”? This 1977 release by Johnny Paycheck spent 18 weeks on the country music charts and, while I didn’t listen to country music growing up (and still don’t, to be very clear), this one somehow got some airplay on whatever stations I was listening to in the early 80s.
The song complains about a factory job where that foreman, he’s a regular dog, and the line boss, he’s a fool. Doesn’t seem like this guy’s much of a team player.
Some employers would want to cut this guy’s hours and make him part-time. Or maybe the factory work has slowed and become more seasonal, and maybe a guy with this attitude is only needed for three months a year.
When companies are hiring for short-term, part-time, seasonal, or as-needed roles, they sometimes make the mistake of classifying these workers as independent contractors. Please don’t do that.
Work that your company controls and supervises, especially non-exempt work, is likely to be employment, not independent contractor work, even if both parties agree to an independent contractor relationship.
It is perfectly ok to hire someone as a short-term employee, a part-time employee, a seasonal employee, or an as-needed employee with fluctuating hours. These are still employees.
Employees can also have multiple jobs. Having multiple jobs doesn’t mean the jobs aren’t employment. The seasonal ticket taker at Cedar Point who also works the cash register on night-shift at Popeye’s is an employee of both, even if the work at each company is sporadic, seasonal, part-time, or as-needed.
Don’t make the mistake of misclassifying a worker as an independent contractor merely because the work is not regular, full-time employment. There are lots of situations in which independent contractor status is appropriate, but if the work resembles employment in every way except its regularity, it’s still going to be employment under the law.
Mr. Paycheck died in 2003. He ain’t workin’ here no more.
© 2026 Todd Lebowitz, posted on WhoIsMyEmployee.com, Exploring Issues of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employment. All rights reserved.
