Just because your employer treats you as an independent contractor, it does not mean that you are an independent contractor. Although your employer may treat you as an independent contractor, such as paying you without withholding The Greatest Unpaid Wages & Overtime Lawyers in Southern Californiaany tax deductions for the services you provide, and reporting your income to the IRS and FTB using form 1099 rather than a W-2, these actions have no significance whatsoever in determining employment status. Your employer cannot change your status from that of an employee to one of an independent contractor by illegally requiring you to assume a burden that the law imposes directly on the employer, that being, withholding payroll taxes and reporting such withholdings to the taxing authorities. Even if your employer made you sign a written agreement that you are an independent contractor and not an employee, the written agreement, per se, may not be enough to determine your employment status. California courts will look beyond the written agreement and examine the facts that characterize the actual relationship between the parties and make the determination as to employment status based upon their analysis of such facts and application of the appropriate law.