The Miami Lakes Chamber of Commerce presented a panel of three local business owners to discuss employee issues, including hiring, lawsuits and payroll taxes.
Alex Miranda, co-owner and founder for Virtify, attorney Gloria M. Garcia, founding partner Gloria M. Garcia P.A. and Romy Pego Remior, owner and founder of HiveWorks Business Solutions, entertained an audience of 70 executives during the Jan. 14 luncheon at the Miami Lakes Hotel on Main.
Tico Casamayor, Chamber President of Public Relations, moderated the nearly hour-long discussion.
Miranda started his company after a payroll issue in 2008 inspired him to search for overseas talent.
“That set me on a journey, understanding that people internationally can perform just as well,” Miranda said.
Pego Remior said the human resource issue she deals with most often is employers who claim they have staff who want to be contractors so as to avoid payroll taxes.
“It is one of the causes for IRS fines … it’s called misclassification of your employee,” Pego Remior said.
She said it is the employer’s duty to define correctly if an employee is a contractor.
“A lot of people, whether it’s because they don’t know or they’re doing it intentionally because they don’t want to pay payroll taxes, they’re intentionally misclassifying their employees,” Pego Remior said.
If a worker has a company laptop, a uniform or a desk, that person is an employee of the company and not a contractor, she said.
Garcia, who practices Worker’s Compensation Law, said if an employer controls an employee’s schedule or dictates where the employee goes, even if they are considered a contracted employee, the staffer can still file for worker’s compensation.
Garcia shared a story about a valet who sued his company after suffering cellulitis from a mosquito bite, due to standing water.
“So they were aware of the issue, they didn’t take care of the issue, so my client … had a bill of $76,000,” Garcia said.
Chamber President Ray Palacios said the organization plans to host more panels this year.
The next luncheon is on Feb. 11. Networking starts at 11:30 a.m. followed by lunch at noon; it costs $45 for members, $55 for non-members and is held at the Miami Lakes Hotel on Main, 6842 Main St. Register at MiamiLakesChamber.com.