PEO FOR CONSULTANTS
PEO For The Oil & Gas Consultant
Consultants, Engineers, & Inspectors, due to the very nature of their work, need flexibility in their Workers’ Compensation and hiring practices. Oil & Gas consultants, such as HSE, Environmental Consultants, Non Destructive Risk Based Inspections, Turnaround Specialists, find PEO relationships of immense value.
Consultants routinely travel within the US or overseas on assignments, hire out of state employees for temporary or permanent placements, and send contractors or employees to different states for assignments. Employees are often hired as Independent Contractors because of short term projects. This puts the company at a higher risk of a law suit or the target of an IRS or State Audit. Adequate measures need to be taken to ensure that the employee passes the 1099 litmus test and their business practices are in compliance with State and Federal guidelines. The PEO co-employment arrangement reduces such risks, allowing flexibility to hire employees on a short term basis or on a per project basis as needed.
If an employee is sent on an assignment to a Monopolistic Workers Compensation State (http://www.naic.org/cipr_topics/topic_workers_comp.htm), the home state Workers Compensation policy will not provide coverage in the event of a claim, leaving the employer exposed to litigation from the employee, as well as penalties and fines from the Monopolistic State. Additionally, hiring other consultants as Independent Contractors, without verifying insurance coverage, may be a violation of the agreement between the Consulting Company and the end Client. If the Independent Contractor does not have Workers Compensation Insurance, the claim for the injury may revert back to the hiring company and the client.
Multi-State Work Comp Coverage With One Policy
PEOs are ideally suited for consultants since they have multi state Work Comp policies. The employer does not need to purchase separate Work Comp policies for each state they work in. Nor do they need file payroll tax reports and unemployment taxes for each of these states. All these functions are handled by the PEO at no cost.
PEOs can also provide detailed payroll and travel reimbursement reports, for client billing, and can assist with the administrative personnel tasks.
Payroll Solutions for Consultants with Customized HR & Safety Manuals
PEOs are undoubtedly the preferred co-employment arrangement for consulting companies such as HSE Consultants, Engineering Consultants, Environmental Engineering Consultants, Safety Inspectors, Oil & Gas Consultants and Accident Inspectors. The PEO arrangement allows them the flexibility of maintaining a mobile office, and yet have a complete HR and Payroll Department to provide back end support.