I am in the process of doing some work for an engineering firm. They do not have a licensed surveyor on the payroll and they need me to do some of their survey work. I would be called in if and when they needed me but would not be a full time or even part time job. They will get some engineering work at times that requires some boundary determination and that is when I would be needed.
I was wondering how best to handle such a situation. We had originally talked about me being 'on call' and I would be a consultant or subcontractor and they would pay me a monthly fee to retain me and I would get a 1099 at the end of the year.
But then they decided I should be on the payroll and I don't have a problem with it (I have filled out the employee paperwork but haven't delivered it to them yet). I would rather not be an employee just because I have my own business and don't want to be in a position where things could get confused as to who has the say on when and what I do. It may never come to that they seem like a good company.
Question is do I have to be an employee in order to take this extra work on? I am in West Virginia.
Keep in mind I will be paid once a month a fee whether they need me to do anything or not to keep me retained as their surveyor of record. I may not do anything for them in a single month but then do several things for them another month. But I will get paid each month regardless of how much I do for them.
John,
I believe you need to read over WV Title 23 Legislative Rule - Series 5 - STANDARDS FOR THE PRACTICE OF SURVEYING (pdf) linked from the West Virginia Board of Professional Surveyors Law page. I would pay particular attention to §23-5-3. Certificate of Authorization and Firm Requirements. I would question if you can be "a licensed professional surveyor, designated as the surveyor-in-charge" for both your own firm and this engineering firm. The key here is the board's interpretation of this if the engineering company is planning to offer surveying services.
The Ohio State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors has advised that the monthly retainer situation you outline would not be considered an employee. The full text of that "Ohio Oil and Gas Extraction Activity | 2013-09-26 Important Information for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors Working in Oil and Gas Extraction in Ohio" is online. While it is not WV this may be similar to the line of thinking the WV board may follow.
My personal opinion is only the consultant line is open to you. Part time employee opens the question I raised above. If the engineering company is contracting for surveying services they must have a licensed surveyor as a full time employee. If they do you would not be the "surveyor-in-charge" for the firm. Subcontracting in this situation may be an option but brings into question who is signing the work. That leaves only the consultant course with you providing surveying service in support of their engineering design.
Thanks for the great reply. That was a lot of help.
Do you carry insurance? If not, that might be why they want to put you on as an employee.
> Keep in mind I will be paid once a month a fee whether they need me to do anything or not to keep me retained as their surveyor of record. I may not do anything for them in a single month but then do several things for them another month. But I will get paid each month regardless of how much I do for them.
With an arrangement like that they are highly motivated to find plenty for you to do. They could bid survey work at a very low rate, build up a very heavy schedule, and you would be obliged to do it all for a flat rate. Just like a salaried employee is. I hope you have retained the option to separate if the relationship becomes unbalanced.
Lots of government surveyors work 4 day weeks as salaried employees and operate private businesses on their "off" days.
I would be worried about a salaried part-time promise, unless there is a max number of hours you will put in. I would be afraid of them "needing" you to come in a lot more often than if they had to pay you for each job if you were subcontracting. I would think it would eat at their craw if they were writing you a check on a month that you did nothing.
I could foresee a lot of potential problems especially with you running your own business. (what if your business worked on an engineering job where your client is the one that won the bid over them, what if you had two emergency jobs to do, one for your business and the other they wanted done "now". What if this part-time job started having you work more and more hours on your set salary....on and on.)
Good to see you posting again John.
I pretty much do the same thing with a contractor. Whatever surveying they need for a monthly fee. Just make the price high enough that you will not need to take other work to be financially independent.