Employee/Independent Contractor Certification form

Northeastern University Professional Services Agreement template

To view Northeastern University's Independent Contractor Policy please click here.

Attention:

There have recently been significant changes to Massachusetts law concerning independent contractors. The revised law presumes that every individual who provides services to Northeastern, whether or not he/she is on the Northeastern University payroll is, unless proven otherwise, an employee.

The consequences of misclassifying an individual services provider as an independent contractor are severe with respect to financial penalties, violation of federal tax and wage requirements, Northeastern University's reputation, and possible individual liability.

When engaging the services of an independent services provider, the following three criteria must all be satisfied to classify the individual as an independent contractor:

• Freedom From Control
• Work Outside the Usual Scope of the Employer's Business
• Independent Trade, Occupation or Business

To assure compliance with the new law, the Employee/Independent Contractor Certification Form (attached) must be completed and attached to all contracts that govern the relationship with independent contractors/consultants. The following process will be utilized:

1. Unit/department head completes the Employee/Independent Contractor Certification Form
2. Prepare a contract to govern the relationship. The Northeastern University Professional Services Agreement template is available at (Purchasing and/or Legal Counsel website) and may be downloaded to assist with the preparation of the contract.
3. Submit the completed Employee/Independent Contractor Certification Form and Professional Services Agreement to Northeastern's Legal Counsel Office. All agreements must be reviewed/approved by Legal Counsel and signed by the Northeastern University Treasurer.
4. Submit a purchase requisition to the Purchasing Department. A purchase order will be issued upon confirmation that step # 3 has been completed.
5. An alternative to the Professional Services Agreement is to "payroll" the independent service provider with Northeastern University's temporary help agency. Another option is Temporary Non-Student Employee status (a solution for certain short-term assignments). Call Susan Batutis in Human Resources for details on either option.

Thank you for your attention. The required forms can be found in the Forms section of this website.

Exceptions

Individuals can still be paid through AP without following the process above IF they are not being paid for services rendered (eg: Speaker fees, receiving an Honorarium, receiving a Monetary Prize/Award, Rents, and Royalties). Individuals are free to contact AP if they have any questions concerning the info we put out on our website.