Employee or Independent Contractor? What's an Acupuncturist to do?

Oct 26

Are you a new Acupuncturist? Were you just offered an amazing JOB, to be brought on as an Associate? Was the offer an independent contractor position? Watch out! It’s probably not as great as it looks.Listen in as I explain why.

ACU-042 Okay, so you've graduated and now you have to decide what's next. Maybe you already know where and who you're gonna work for, or where your clinic's gonna open, or who your ideal patient is, and maybe even what your treatment focus will be, but. I doubt it because life doesn't really work that way for most of us, and in my experience working with and supporting new practitioners, you don't really know what's next upon graduation.

Life gets jumbled again. You relocate, you have babies, you get divorced, you interview for jobs, you work for other acupuncturists, you share space and or you start your own business, et cetera, et cetera. But here's the truth. The snapshot taken five years after your initial career choice after your initial start as an acupuncturist is typically radically different.

So what you thought you wanted changed the location where you started no longer suits you. You worked for three practitioners before you found a clinic that resonates with your treatment style and goals. You thought you wanted to treat women's health challenges only to find out that hospice is where you truly belong.

I wanna tell you a little secret. It's okay, . It's supposed to happen. Just as it happens. You aren't doing it wrong and you aren't failing. You did some serious growth in school. We went in as like, I'm gonna be super cheesy here for a second, but you went in as a caterpillar and now you're about to fly.

Seriously. Now think about this. Think about how much you have changed from the beginning of school to where you are now. And I know that this is super cheesy, but serious. Take some time to get used to those wings, like take your time and be gentle with the new version of you. If Chinese medicine teaches us anything, it's that everything has cycles and so does your career.

You're going to have to learn to grow into your practice, and it's okay to change directions, and it's okay to change your mind about things as your experience levels change.

What you’ll learn:

• Employee vs Independent Contractor as defined by the IRS.
• The history of the FLSA, (Fair Labor Standards Act) which in 1938 set minimum wage and standard guidelines of employment.
• The present politics. How Trump changed it and how Biden is working to re-instate the original and make further, more solid distinctions.
• How the business owner benefits and the associate does not benefit as an Independent Contractor.
• Current standard payment as an employed Associate.

Resources

• IRS Definition
• Recent publication Oct 2022 in federal register of Biden trying to reinstate original emphasis on definition.
• Article on Bloomberg Law website discussing how Trump changed the emphasis on how to delineate between IC and Employee and how Biden is working to change it.
• Episode 20 with MaryAnn Geness...