Yes... by law they most certainly are. “Abandon all Hope Oh Ye Who Enter Seattle”
A friend of mine in Seattle owned a business where they hired contractors as interpreters for courtrooms. The state decided one day that their contractors were “employees” and threatened them with MASSIVE and live destroying fines if they didn’t “turn in” some of the folks that did similar stuff. It was like the McCarthyism myths, only real. It was “turn in” folks or lose everything.
The corruption is disgusting.