STATE AUDIT FILE
Worker classification,
state by state.
A state unemployment agency does not use the federal IRS common-law test. Each state publishes its own worker-status framework — an ABC test, a 20-factor review, a common-law factor list, or a two-part control-and-independent-business test — and reads it against its own statute. Start with the audit process, then open the guide for the state that sent the notice.
01
EVERY STATE
The audit process
These steps apply regardless of which state test governs: what starts an audit, how to organize the record request, how to answer a classification questionnaire, and what happens if contractors are reclassified.
01What Can Trigger a State Unemployment Tax Worker-Classification Audit?A notice from a state unemployment agency often begins with a worker, a wage record, or an employer filing—not with a dramatic allegation of fraud.02How to Organize a State Unemployment Audit Document RequestAn audit request can look like a miscellaneous pile of payroll, bank, 1099, contract, and worker records. A document map turns it into a controlled response.03How to Answer a Worker-Classification Questionnaire Without GuessingState questionnaires often ask short yes-or-no questions about control, tools, schedules, customers, and termination. The underlying facts are rarely that short.04Preparing 1099 and Accounts-Payable Records for an Unemployment AuditInformation returns are only the top layer of the record. The audit file should connect each 1099 payee to the services, payment history, and actual working relationship behind the form.05What to Do After a State Unemployment Audit Reclassifies ContractorsA state determination is not the end of the project. It creates a record, a deadline, and a set of operational questions that must be separated and managed.
02
26 STATES
By state
Each guide names the exact test the state agency applies and turns it into an evidence file rather than a scorecard. Alphabetical.
ALAlaskaAlaska UI Contract Labor: The ABC Test Plus the $50 / 24-Day Rule Employers Commonly MissARArizonaArizona UI Worker Classification: Right to Control and the “Regular Part of the Business” SignalCACaliforniaCalifornia EDD Worker-Classification Audit: Build the File Around California LawCOColoradoColorado UI Worker Classification: How the Two-Part Test, Contract Presumption, and Advisory Opinion Fit TogetherCOConnecticutConnecticut UI ABC Test: The B-Prong Has Two Paths—Document the One You Actually UseFLFloridaFlorida Reemployment Tax Classification: How to Prepare for the RTS-6061 Ten-Factor ReviewGEGeorgiaGeorgia Unemployment Tax Classification: The Unusual SS-8 Alternative in the GDOL Employer HandbookILIllinoisIllinois Unemployment Insurance Section 212: A Three-Prong Test With No Room for a Missing ProngMAMarylandMaryland Workplace Fraud Act: The Contractor File Construction and Landscaping Businesses Must KeepMAMassachusettsMassachusetts Independent Contractor Test: Why “Outside the Usual Course” Deserves Its Own FileMIMichiganMichigan UIA Contractor Classification: Reconcile the 20-Factor Review Before an Audit or ClaimMIMinnesotaMinnesota Worker Classification in 2026: Separate the General UI Review From Construction and Trucking RulesMIMissouriMissouri UI Worker Classification: Use the 20 Factors as Evidence—Then Check Statutory Employee and Exempt CategoriesNENebraskaNebraska Construction and Delivery Classification: Contractor Registration Is Not the Same as Employee StatusNENevadaNevada UI ABC Test: Why an IRS Contractor Result or Written Agreement Does Not Settle State CoverageNENew JerseyNew Jersey ABC Test in 2026: What Employers Should Document Before the October 1 Regulations Become OperativeNENew YorkNew York Unemployment Insurance Worker Classification: Focus on Supervision, Direction, and ControlNONorth CarolinaNorth Carolina UI Contractor Status: Build the File Around Control or Direction, Not the 1099OHOhioOhio UI Worker Classification: Choose the Right Test Before You Answer—General, Construction, or TruckingOROregonOregon ORS 670.600: Build the Contractor File Around the 3-of-5 Independent-Business TestPEPennsylvaniaPennsylvania UC Worker Classification: The Two-Part Test and the Records UCTS Expects to SeeTETexasTexas Workforce Commission Contractor Test: Review the Actual Direction and ControlUTUtahUtah UI Independent Contractor Test: Prove Both an Independent Business and Freedom From ControlVIVirginiaVirginia VEC Contractor Classification: Turn the 20 Factors Into an Evidence File, Not a ScorecardWAWashingtonWashington Unemployment Tax Contractor Test: The Two RCW 50.04.140 Paths Employers Should Not BlendWIWisconsinWisconsin UI Contractor Test: Freedom From Control Is Only Part One—Then You Need Six of Nine Conditions
Working a federal question instead? See the Form SS-8 and federal relief & corrections guides, or the full guide library.
Worker Classification Desk is an employer-education resource and does not provide legal or tax advice.