To learn more about your state unemployment department's test, go to your state unemployment compensation board or your state department of labor. You can also try your local office of the Small Business Administration. For a list of SBA offices, check out the SBA's website at www.sba.gov.

If a worker whom you treated as an IC decides to apply for unemployment compensation -- which is reserved for employees -- it will be your word against the worker's. You say the worker was an IC, but the worker -- hungry for that unemployment check -- says otherwise. In such a situation, you'd better be prepared to back up your claim with documentation.

To find out more about the workers' compensation test in your state, contact your state department of industrial relations or your state labor department. Your local office of the SBA might also have information on the subject. For a list of SBA offices, refer to the SBA's website at www.sba.gov.

If an IC is injured on the job and applies for workers' compensation -- something reserved for employees -- you might find yourself with an audit on your hands. You should be prepared from the beginning to prove that the worker was an IC under the workers' compensation board's test.