My son is a real estate broker too. If your associates work with any other broker, you're home free. If they work strictly for you, you should be handling them as W4/W2 employees. My son has 60 employees. Some qualify to work on a 1099 basis. Most of them don't.
We have a lot of precen dence in Cal with exclusivity. In fact it’s required by the state. Everyone is on 1099.