Locke Lord Labor and Tax Teams Obtain Result in $22 Million IRS Employment Tax Audit in Favor of Insurance Industry Client

Richard Reibstein (New York) and Buddy Sanders (Houston) led a Locke Lord team that represented an insurance industry client facing a potential $22 million exposure in an IRS employment tax audit that focused primarily on whether the company properly classified over 1,000 workers providing services across the United States. The team sought Section 530 safe harbor relief but also asserted, on the merits, that the workers qualified as independent contractors. After an audit that commenced over two years earlier, the IRS issued a determination in favor of the client on the merits of the worker classification issue. Additional assistance was provided by Janet Barsky (New York).
Posted on June 16, 2023