If you are an independent contractor as opposed to an employee, then you are not covered by minimum wage laws. Even though independent contractors work for a company, they are not legally considered employees of that company. Independent contractors — such as consultants and freelancers — work for hire. The question of whether someone is an independent contractor can be quite technical, and employers sometimes get it wrong (usually by misclassifying workers as independent contractors when they are really employees).
Also, certain categories of employees — such as farm workers and professional workers — do not fall within the minimum wage laws. If you are related to the owner of a farm on which you work, you work on a small farm, you are paid piece rate, or you work on the range with livestock, you may not be entitled to the minimum wage. However, the details of the farm worker exemptions can be quite tricky.
David Payab, Esq. from The Law Offices of Payab & Associates can be reached @ (818) 918-5522 or by visiting http://payablaw.com/
