To come from the other side of the discussion, I worked as a contractor for a curator at one of the Smithsonians for about a year. Here is how it works from my observations: a contractor is not an employee (already said plenty of times). On some contracts I worked 40 hours a week, and on others only 20 per week. It depends on the contract. Giving a contractor parameters within which to work- only doing work at the museum, working during set hours (museum open hours), etc does not muddy the waters on what a contractor is and is there to do. 

I was contracted to complete particular projects for the curator. Some were research and some were administrative/programmatic. I know other contractors who were hired for very long periods- some contracts can be multi-year if they have that funding- to play a particular part in a long-term project (digitizing collections, recataloging, new exhibits and educational program creation). It was always clear that I was a contractor, not a staff person- at the SI the badge colors are even different. I was paid when I invoiced and had set deliverables on a set schedule. 

The discussion about full-time versus part-time on this thread does not make sense to me. If my contract timeline and deliverables required me to work 40 hours a week to complete on time, then I did. If it only required 20 hours of work a week to complete on schedule then I did that. As the contractor, it is my responsibility to keep my hours straight to keep on the contracted timeline- not yours as the employer. Once you've contracted someone to do a job, you pay them for their deliverables- ie the completion of the project or at certain points during the project (every two weeks until the contracted job is complete). Some in the education department were ongoing contractors working on multiple projects doing audio/visual or something that there wasn't a staffer able/available to do. They were paid "regularly"- through invoices- and had "regular" 40 working hours per week, but they were contractors not staff. 

I realize at a smaller place it's usually less rigid, but keeping the rigidity in place keeps the administrators happy and everything legal. 

I hope this helps. Hiring a contractor shouldn't be the key to getting a full-time bookkeeper but if you need extra staff to change exhibits, work on public programs, or assist curators with research I think those good examples ripe for contract work. 

On Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 10:29 PM, Norman Paul Stromdahl <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Interesting thread... 
Setting aside the ethics of your magnanimous approach to providing jobs, you should pay attention to the many cautions and do your research on the use of "contracted staff" vs employees. The red flag here is that your HR department has concerns.

Microsoft case:

For profit vs not-for-profit are forms of incorporation that factor into how taxes are calculated. 501c3 designates an entity existing for the public good and therfore able to receive donations. An employee is someone whose time, place and work product you control... no matter your corporate or tax status.

Regards, Paul Stromdahl


On Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 3:15 PM, Jessica Carter <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Hi,
 
Working in benefits consulting and formerly working at museums, I will say you want to be extremely careful about the distinction between contracted employees and W-2 employees.  Contracted (also known as 1099) employees are usually hired for set periods of time to work on specific projects and generally aren't considered part of the permanent workforce.  W-2 (or regular employees) are considered part of the permanent workforce.
 
If you are talking about hiring permanent contracted employees, I would strongly recommend consulting a labor attorney, as Microsoft (and other companies) got into *huge* trouble with this about 10 years ago.  They ended up having to pay all of the back pay and taxes (and they ended up going back for several years involving many employees, so the monies were not insignificant).  The DOL regularly audits for this, and there are penalties as well as back pay and taxes involved.
 
For classifying employees, you will need to look at their specific role in the company, the hours they are expected to work, who directs their workload and how they are managed.  Basically, if they are treated as a regular employee, the DOL will view them as a regular employee, regardless of how you classify them.
 
As far as I know, the rules are not different for non-profits.
 
I work with clients on benefits, and all of them are dealing with the same issues regarding health care reform your museum is.  If you have questions on specific strategies regarding the costs and benefits of health care reform, please feel free to contact me off-list.
 
Warm regards,
Jessica Carter
 

From: Thomas Close <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 11:59 AM
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Contract Staff/Educators

Hi everyone,
The museum I work at is growing rapidly. As the new healthcare legislation starts to set in, we're interested in hiring contracted full-time, non-benefited educators and other staff. However, our HR department (coming from a for-profit, corporate background) is hesitant to do so without more information on the topic. Although I'd love for everyone to receive benefits, I know we have many more people who'd simply prefer to have full-time hours instead of part-time.
Can anyone point me in the direction of resources/research related to this topic?
In an effort to gather information and convince them that other museums & non-profits are hiring this way, my director has created the following survey. I'd be very appreciative if you all could take a few moments to fill it out.
 Best,

Thomas Close
Gallery Experience Manager
Perot Museum of Nature and Science



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