Independent Contractors/Employees

The Independent Contractor Questionnaire Form must be completed and submitted along with a disbursement request, requesting payment for services to an individual who is not an employee of the University, Research Foundation, or UB Foundation. This is necessary in order to establish the relationship with the individual as being independent of an employer - employee type which would subject the payment to payroll taxes. An employee is defined as an individual who performs services for which the employer controls the method of what will be done, how it will be done, and the result of the services. Generally, people in business for themselves are not employees.

A previous determination received from the IRS places the following specific classes of individuals in the two different categories:

• Independent Contractors: includes research study volunteers and professional workers, referees, umpires, sports camp counselors, dental hygienists, broadcasters, coaches, interpreters, fellowships, consultants, theater set or custom designers, composers, and construction personnel, professionals engaged in employment outside the University (e.g., physicians, attorneys, engineers, architects), lecturers and instructors from outside of Buffalo, and persons providing professional services (e.g., persons who devise scientific testing procedures).
• Employees: includes computer or keypunch operators working on research studies, clerical workers, graduate student employees and teaching assistants, theater actors, professionals not engaged in employment outside the University, and persons performing clerical and computer programming services.

This list is not meant to be all inclusive, but highlights some of the major classes of individuals.