As a 1099 I was a real contractor. I paid all my own taxes including SS. I have an EIN on file with the IRS which I use when I freelance and is used for these purposes. I have worked as an independent contractor, a 1099, and as an employee of a contracting house. When I was an employee of the contracting house I was incorrectly referred to as a contractor. I was not, I was an employee but not of the contracting house's client.

It isn't all that hard to grasp.

You are wrong. The people they work next to are not contractors. They are employees of contracting houses. There is a big difference. I have worked as a 1099 before and as a 'contractor' for a contracting house. The 'contractor' things was not a 1099 gig, it was an employee/employer relationship.

In addition if you turn down an offer does eBay penalize you?

I have worked extra hours, didn't get the pay increase and got laid off anyway. From now on if I work over time and don't get paid for it I make sure I work some shorter days to compensate. No one rides for free.

They're still suckers. Find a better employer. Bail as soon as you can.

The flip side of that is CONTROL. Employers want CONTROL but not the responsibility that comes with it. As a 1099 I could be flexible and tell companies to take a hike even if they really needed me (There are some contracts not worth the hassle of extending. They can call me when they get serious about the project). AN employee has to do the job regardless. Employers want to force people to do things their way without giving them the flexibility of picking projects and tasks and doing things their own way.

"Wait a minute. Back the truck up. If it was clear, there wouldn't be all the lawsuits about it"

Unless one party had a fancy pants lawyer who convinced them they could pull a fast one.

But you have to weigh that against opportunity. CA is the 7th largest economy in the world.

"If you're an independent contractor, you don't get paid for the time you take off"

As a 1099 I billed for every hour I worked so that I could afford to give myself a vacation. Any employee working extra hours without extra pay is a sucker.

The only reason I stopped freelancing is I needed insurance. Though now with insurance exchanges it might make sense for me to become an entrepreneur again.

I think the caveat is to know your market. It might be different in Phoenix, Dallas, or Cleveland. Know your job market.

"That doesn't sound like it scales very well."

There's the problem, not certs. If you are holding cattle calls and treating people like interchangeable biological units you are doing it wrong. While people do become egotistical and think of themselves as more special than they are at times, the 'special little snowflake' syndrome, people are individuals. Not evaluating people as individuals is a mistake. Please let me know who your company is so I can never apply there if I can help it. It probably has some deep and profound problems I would rather not experience.

Tell HR certs are desirable but not required.

The best information you can get on the 'net

http://www.kibo.com/

Shouldn't we let the market adjust without intervention? Isn't this what free markets are all about? And what about the wisdom of crowds? What's the big deal?