[PistolPaknMama]

This sounds like a fine line between "contractor" and "employee." The IRS has several questions you can answer to determine the status of a worker. I'd say you are an employee, not a contractor and the only reason they call you a contractor is so they don't have to carry workers comp insurance on you and pay half your social security.

As a contractor you probably should not be eligible to participate in their employer health care program either. For you to have signed up for that, somebody had to state you are an employee. Since they've already represented you as an employee, if you leave I'd feel sure they wouldn't come clean with their insurance company and say they lied the last three years just to keep you from getting COBRA. That's the only way you would become ineligible.

Won't go into the written contract issue since some other folks covered that on this thread already. But if you continue doing contract work in the future make sure you HAVE a contract that covers what-ifs and allows you a life!

Good luck!! :-)

[politicket]

As a contractor you probably should not be eligible to participate in their employer health care program either.

That is an excellent point! Are you currently getting health coverage through this company? Or is a job shop providing it for you?

If the company that you are going to each day is providing health coverage then I would be VERY careful since the IRS will indeed regard you as an employee. Things can get very twisted from all sides when this happens.