I'm John Batche with my colleague Gene Marks and I'm delighted to welcome him back from his travels.

He is a small business columnist and the business of America is small business and we're looking right now at how things are going

to improve in 2024 or not.

The first thing we need to take into account is that there's been a change in labor rules

about contract workers.

Gene, we touched on this often off and on in 2023.

Well here is 2024. What is is the change good evening to you.

John so there's a big big change that just became finalized and goes effective in March

and it impacts anybody small business or large business that uses independent contractors, a freelancer.

Somebody that at the end of the year you give them that 1099 tax form if you paid them more than $600. Many small businesses and bigger

businesses use independent contractors in their work. I use a dozen of them

in my business and they're very critical to my work and this rule impacts me and if it impacts

me and you're listening to this it very well may impact you as well because now the new rule not only sets out certain restates some of the things we've known in the past about having an independent contractor

They need to have control over their work set their own schedules their own tools, be able to set their own prices,

all of that.

None of that has really changed.

But there is one big factor that has been added in this role that really, really changes things.

And this, is the independent contractor integral to

your business? Integral, which means that they are either part of the billing process in your business, they're generating revenue for your business, or they're a core part of the services or products that you provide.

So that means that if you're a home care business and you have an independent contractor

that goes out and provides those home care services and then you you bill your

clients for that service that independent contractor is integral to your business.

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