<prompt> Human: So I worked for an Architect for about 7 months as a 1099. We worked out of his home office predominantly. Hours were 9-5. I also used a computer provided about half of the time. He directed me on 80-90 of the work we did. So I quitcontract was terminated, when I refused to work on-site at a construction site because, well, I was a 1099, and I didnt want to. I also didnt have any workers comp obviously, and I recently had ACL surgery, so I didnt want to risk my long term health at a site without insurance. Had anything happened I wouldve been out of luck. So I have been trying to get him to pay the remaining hours I have billed him over the last 6 months was terminated in January. He refuses, partly because the way it worked was I gave him my invoices stating how many hours I worked on a specific project, and then he billed his clients. Inevitably I had to bill him for work, and he refuses to pay said bills. My contract was with him ultimately, so i think its silly he wouldnt think I would bill him. There are also some outstanding bills for some of his clients he refuses to pay. My questions are: Am I an employee? And if I file A Initial Report or Claim with my local Labor Department, am I going to have to pay more than I will receive, therefore making it not worth my while, in the form of taxes? I was paid around 10,000 total. I am still owed around 2500. I have read on other threads that the employer has to deal with those costs if successfully deemed an employee. Of course I would like to get paid for my time, but I also know he has done this with the two other 1099s that I worked with, as well as many other people. Will he retroactively have to pay taxes and penalties for all others? Any responses are much appreciated.Edit: I guess what goes along with this is my ability to use deductions, which I had been doing because I was under the impression I was filing as a 1099. An example is, I commuted 50 miles to his office. Had I been an employee I wouldnt have done it. The deductions for gastravel expenses made it somewhat worth it. So do I lose those deductions, or does the burden get transferred to my employer for falsely employingcontracting me?  <response>: California is pretty aggressive about pursuing 1099 issues. If you file a claim with the state labor commissioner for unpaid wages and other claims pursuant to being incorrectly classified as an independent contractor, it could get very costly for your former employer. There are also federal ramifications. 