The compliance layer between "we want to hire this person" and "they start Monday."
Six worker types, one intake — plus an insurance & benefits read for each
The previous version only routed between "employee" and "1099 contractor." This version adds four more
worker types that small companies actually hire under, and adds a dedicated insurance/benefits read to every
path — not just employees.
New worker types
Freelancer — reuses the same adaptive classification interview as Contractor (the underlying
statutory test is the same either way), plus freelancer-specific admin: W-9 collection and the $600
Form 1099-NEC reporting threshold.
Business Partner — a short equity/salary/management-rights form. Statute uses 10% equity as an
illustrative reference point, not a statutory bright line — real classification depends on the entity's
operating or partnership agreement.
Advisor — compensation type, hours/month, and whether the company directs the work; equity-only,
low-hours, independent advisors typically need no wage-based obligations at all.
Intern — paid interns run the same multi-state employee lookup as any employee; unpaid interns
are checked against the federal "primary beneficiary" test, since unpaid internships at for-profit
companies carry real FLSA risk.
Insurance & benefits, made explicit
Employees and paid interns now get a ninth "Insurance & benefits" line in the Before Day One
checklist (state disability insurance, state-run retirement mandates like CO SecureSavings or CalSavings,
and where federal COBRA/ACA thresholds start to matter).
Contractors, freelancers, advisors, and equity partners get the inverse reminder: providing
employee-style benefits to them is itself a misclassification risk factor, not a nice-to-have.
Before You Hire
Tell us about the hire. We'll show you what it triggers before you make the offer.
Covers Colorado hiring into CO, CA, TX, NY, WA, or IL today. More states are added by demand, not guessed at.
Intern classification
Paid vs. unpaid changes the analysis substantially.
Non-exhaustive federal factors: both sides understand there's no expectation of pay; training resembles
an educational environment; tied to the intern's formal education; accommodates the academic calendar;
limited to the period providing beneficial learning; complements rather than displaces paid staff's
work; no entitlement to a paid job afterward.
Business partner classification
Statute uses 10% equity as an illustrative reference point — real partner/member status
depends on your entity's operating or partnership agreement and tax elections, not a fixed percentage in
the law.
Advisor classification
Most advisory relationships are compensated in equity only and involve a handful of hours a month.
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A source behind this file has been updatedColorado's misclassification penalty tiers (C.R.S. § 8-4-113) are scheduled for an inflation adjustment beginning January 1, 2028.