Just to add some actual cases, there was the $6.5 million settlement by Lowe’s Home Centers as well as a FedEx Ground case, where the idea of "1099ing an LLC" did not protect them.
"Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Kansas Supreme Court both held that FedEx Ground had misclassified employees as independent contractors who were operating as business entities or subcontracted additional routes to other drivers."
"Some state laws expressly carve out from their definitions of “employee” status a business entity where the hiring party does not exercise direction or control over the performance of the services and meets other requirements. Thus, companies that wish to minimize independent contractor misclassification liability wisely do not rely solely on the fact that the independent contractor is a business entity."
This is consistent with what I have detailed throughout the thread, i.e. it is a factor in some States with an emphasis in Florida where it is included in the statutory definition of Independent Contractor. I can not imagine any lawyer who would advise their Client to enter an Independent Contractor Agreement with an individual, even if it is not determinative of the classification, it is good business practice and there is nothing to be gained by entering the contract with an individual over a company.
"Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Kansas Supreme Court both held that FedEx Ground had misclassified employees as independent contractors who were operating as business entities or subcontracted additional routes to other drivers."
http://independentcontractorcompliance.com/2015/01/14/four-l...