Unique Risk Management and Insurance Services

10/18/2026

Think you know your trade? 🏗️

Time to put your Contractor IQ to the test.

10 questions. Some easy. Some might surprise you.

Swipe through, keep score, and see where you rank.

Be honest — how many did you get right? 😂

10/17/2026

"I pay him 1099 so he's an independent contractor."

That's not how California sees it.

The payment method doesn't determine the classification. The working relationship does.

California's ABC test requires three things to treat a worker as an independent contractor. Most 1099 arrangements on construction sites fail the second one — the work has to be outside your usual course of business.

Framing contractor pays a framer 1099? That's your usual course of business. He's your employee at audit.

Doesn't matter what you wrote on the check.

Follow for more of what the system isn't designed to tell you.
#1099

10/16/2026

Five days on the 1099 illusion. Here's what it comes down to.

California has one of the strictest worker classification tests in the country. The ABC test doesn't care about your payment method, your agreements, or how the worker is structured.

It asks one question: did you control the work?

If yes — for WC purposes, for labor law purposes, for audit purposes — they're your employee.

That's not a penalty. That's the rule.

The contractors who document their subs properly don't get audit surprises. The ones who collect COIs after the fact — or not at all — find out what it costs at year end.

DM AUDIT for the WC Audit Readiness Guide.
DM REVIEW if you want us to look at your sub documentation setup. Both free. 🔨

#1099

10/15/2026

Most contractors pay 1099 because they think it saves money.

Here's the full math nobody runs.

You pay a worker $35/hr as a 1099 instead of $30/hr as an employee.
You save: payroll taxes (~8%), workers comp premium, benefits.
Looks like a win.

But if they don't pass California's ABC test:
WC audit back-bills the premium you avoided.
State labor board can assess penalties.
You're still on the hook if they get hurt on your job site.

The savings evaporate. The exposure doesn't.

Run the full math before you decide. Not just the rate on the check.

DM REVIEW — we can help you think through the actual cost of your labor model. 🔨

#1099

10/14/2026

I want to be clear — 1099 subs are not the problem.

Legitimate independent contractors are a normal part of how construction works.
The problem is treating employees like subs because it's easier.

Here's what actually protects you:

Their own workers comp policy — valid, covering the dates they worked, from a carrier you can verify.
An active CSLB license for the work they're doing.
A scope of work that's genuinely outside your normal operations.
A COI on file before work starts. Not after.

One unverified sub. Real exposure.
One properly documented sub. Zero exposure.

DM REVIEW — we can look at your sub documentation setup. Free. 🔨

#1099

10/13/2026

The sub who saved your schedule might cost you more than you paid him.

Labor is tight. You're behind. You call a guy — 1099, no WC policy, gets the job done. Project stays on track.

Here's what happens at year end.

Your WC auditor finds him.
California ABC test: you controlled the work — he's your employee.
Those payments: uninsured payroll.
The bill: back-billed WC premium. Lump sum. Due immediately.

The job got done. The bill came later.

This isn't a gray area. It's a consistent audit finding every year.

DM REVIEW — worth looking at your sub documentation before audit time. 🔨

#1099

10/12/2026

Overtime can cost you extra on the paycheck—and again on workers’ comp.

At a $30 hourly rate, time and a half is $45. The extra $15 is the overtime premium portion that can be excluded from California workers’ comp payroll when your records support it.

The regular-pay portion still counts. Make sure your reports let the auditor verify the overtime premium separately; processing the paycheck does not automatically establish the exclusion.

10/12/2026

California doesn't care what's on the check.

You can pay someone 1099. They can have an LLC. You can have a signed independent contractor agreement. None of it matters if you controlled the work.

California's ABC test is one of the strictest in the country.
To treat a worker as an independent contractor you have to prove three things:

A — They're free from your control and direction.
B — They perform work outside your usual course of business.
C — They're engaged in an independently established trade or business.

Most 1099 arrangements on construction sites fail B.
If you're a framing contractor and you paid a framer 1099 — that's not outside your usual course of business.

At your WC audit those payments become employee payroll.

DM REVIEW — worth looking at how your subs are classified. 🔨

10/12/2026

10/11/2026

“Mostly this, a little of that” is not a payroll record.

When California classification rules allow payroll to be divided between construction operations, your records must show the actual time spent doing each type of work.

Estimated percentages do not establish the split. Without the required records, payroll can end up in the highest-rated applicable classification.

Record the hours and work as they happen so the auditor has something verifiable.