driver regulations as an employer

Good evening everyone,

I am new to this forum, however, I haven't hopped in the welcome wagon yet. I was more interested in joining a forum due to a problem I have run into this month. Well, I am a very small trucking company. My brother and I own two trucks at the moment. We have been driving since the recession hit in 08. We bought a truck (09 peterbilt) and started driving in hopes to get a small 5-10 truck trucking company working one day. Well, we currently have two and decided to hire a truck driver to driver one truck while my brother and I handle the loads and drive the other truck...etc.

Well, since I am a small company, I do business out of my home, so i dont supply benefits at all. I hired a driver with a basic set rate. CA-NJ/PA/MD and back for $1k. Now, my question is, am I able to keep him hired under an "Independent Contractor" (google the basics on it if necessary) and not supply workers compensation while operating "my" equipment. I gave him a 1099 tax form and told him, you will be paid every time you turn the invoice into me and it is your responsibility to file taxes. Well, he has the labor board now on my ###, and with a recently rejected load (insurance is handling , but its been over a month) I had to tell him to stop driving because I cannot afford to pay him.

Now, question is , do i need workers compensation if he is hired under an Independent contractor agreement where he pays his own taxes? or am I in for a ride, because i was served documents today by the labor board for a set court date to appear to pay compensation to him while he was currently out of work?

 

Thank you for your guys imput. This is what i offer to my driver and he's fine with it. He came to me because I offer a really simply way of pay with no hassle, and there really is no other jobs out there. Im not a bad guy, so i'm not trying to blackball him. I spoke to my attorney today, and I will be offering him a team position with either my brother or I for now till everything is back to normal. That way he can only claim compensation for no more than one week and a half. So long as I offer work, his claim under law must stop. Furthermore, the workers compensation program under my company will begin tuesday, my fellows at IRP of CA are helping me out. Other than that, I'll get into the welcome wagon and post some pictures of my equipment and my long rough story of how I got into this business.

 

by the way, W.C. in california is 10-12% for drivers.