Independent contractor is a legal term of calling a person who is working for you but his or her work status is not actually your employee.
Even though you are paying for what they worked for you, they are considered as an independent business entity that will take care of its own insurance, expenses and taxes on their own.
When you hire your workers, you cannot just avoid all the employment laws in your state by calling them independent contractors as you wish.
Each state has its own rules and regulations that outline when and how a person can be an independent contractor.
The most important and common rule is that you cannot tell them how and when to work.
Another words, they will control their own schedule and the way they handle the project.
As soon as you start to supervise by giving them tools for the job, when to show up and how the work should be done, then you are already treating them as an employee.
A contractor agreement can be used when you make a contract, even though it is not necessary to keep in writing.
Often times, this agreement in writing is more important than employee agreement as it outlines the job description and when it should be completed.
Usually it describes specific location of the job and specific work scope of agreed job description.
Also both parties will agree that the job will be done in appropriate manners according to standard industry practices, unless there are exceptional conditions and requirements stated in a separate attachment.
Occasionally there can be a time when you have to change or terminate the independent contractor agreement for various reasons.
For example, raining or snowing condition can hinder the work schedule and it will delay the deadline at the end.
Or the contractor could have accident and not being in a position of performing normal work.
If any of above cases happens, there are forms like modification of independent contractor agreement and termination of independent contractor agreement to assist those situations.