The Mailbag.

• Author: Delogu, Nancy
• Position: Letter to the editor

Our handbook says we pay for holidays, but must we pay if it falls on a weekend?

Q Our employee handbook says we offer a "paid day off" for a specific holiday. But if the holiday falls on a weekend day that we normally don't work, are we obligated to pay them for that day? (We don't give them the previous Friday or the following Monday off.)--Donna, North Carolina

A Possibly. It's unlikely that your state law would find a failure to pay in this circumstance a violation of the state wage payment laws, since you aren't actually failing to pay workers for time worked. But handbooks can be used as evidence of your promise to pay for certain holidays.

In other words, a court may see that handbook wording as creating an enforceable contract. Of course, your handbook may also disclaim any intent to create an enforceable contract. But the circumstances and your conduct in the past is typically relevant to a contract claim.

Does being set up as an LLC automatically make the person a legit independent contractor?

Q We use a worker who has set himself up as a limited liability company (LLC). Does that LLC designation make it safe to classify and pay him as a 1099 independent contractor? Or will the IRS also apply its test to an incorporated entity?--Kary, Florida

A It is certainly helpful to the independent-contractor analysis to deal with business entities, such as the LLC described above, as opposed to hiring individuals. However, it is still the overall relationship--not just the corporate designation--that will determine if the individuals doing the work are exclusively owners/employees of the independent entity or if they also should be considered employees (or jointly employed) by you. The more control you have over their work and schedule, the more likely they'll be employees.

Online resource To learn about the Trump administration's revised six-factor test for determining a worker's independent contractor versus...