Obamacare in Action: Retail Workweek Hits 3-Year Low

Independent contractors also have to pay 100% of payroll taxes, such as Social Security and Medicare. The self-employed contractor will also have to pay estimated quarterly income taxes to the IRS and shoulder the burden of understanding tax law like never before. As self-employed individuals, they will likely not qualify for group health insurance policies, so their healthcare costs are going to climb as well. In some cases, the independent contractor will also assume liability risks that might best be addressed by obtaining alternative forms of insurance. It becomes very costly to the individual to get bumped off the regular payroll and onto the independent payroll, and companies aren't going to easily compensate these people for it.