Frequently Asked Questions

Commercial General Liability

• $1,000,000 per occurrence
• $3,000,000 in aggregate

Professional Liability (inclusive of medical professionals)

• $1,000,000 per occurrence
• $3,000,000 in the aggregate

Commercial Excess Liability (Umbrella)

• $5,000,000 combined single limits

Hired and Non-Owned Automobile Liability

• $1,000,000 combined single limits

Employer Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)

• $1,000,000

Employee Dishonesty Bond

• $1,000,000 combined single limits

Workers’ Compensation

• Statutory limits

Healthcare Insurance

All of our plans are compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We offer two (2) traditional types of healthcare insurance through Anthem, one of the largest and most recognized healthcare companies in the United States. We offer the traditional PPO plan and the High-Deductible Plan (HDP) that offers the Health Savings Account (HSA) option. Visit our Health Insurance Benefit Summary for complete details and pricing.

Dental Insurance

This is a voluntary plan through Anthem where employees can choose to see any dentist. One hundred percent (100%) of the usual and customary cost is covered for preventative procedures, 80% for restorative procedures, and 50% for major procedures.

Vision Insurance

This voluntary plan through Anthem includes savings on vision exams, frames, lenses, and contact lenses. A laser vision correction benefit is also included.

401(k) Savings Plan

All eligible employees, 21 years and older, have the option to join our 401(k) Savings Plan at the end of six months of employment. The option is available to elect either a traditional 401(k) that is pre-taxed or a Roth 401(k) that is post-tax. Employees can contribute up to 90% of their weekly gross pay up to the IRS maximum. The employee may roll over previous employer’s 401(k) money into Top Echelon Contracting’s 401(k) immediately.

Health Savings Account

We offer a health savings account (HSA) that enables employees to save money by putting tax free dollars away for current and future medical expenses. Our HSA is administered by Health Equity who provides 24/7 customer support and an online portal. Employees who elect will receive a debit card in the mail, and can immediately begin using it. (Note: Employees are eligible to contribute to a HSA only if they participate in a High Deductible Healthcare Plan).

Disclaimer: Benefits are subject to change based on Top Echelon Contracting’s vendors, suppliers, and company requirements.

Visit our Health Insurance Benefit Summary for details and pricing.

If you elect health insurance coverage, the employee premium for the health insurance will be deducted from your pay on a pre-tax basis unless you direct otherwise. Your payroll deductions for the health insurance will begin the first pay of the month in which your coverage becomes effective. Each paycheck will have a benefit deduction. The above “Employee Monthly Premium” reflects an employer contribution of up to 50% of the “Employee Only” single coverage for the Base plan.

f you do not turn in a timesheet, no deductions can be made for that week and the deduction will be added to the next pay. For example, if your monthly premium is $140.31, you would have a $32.38 pre-tax deduction from each week’s pay. If you do not turn in a timesheet one week, $64.76 will be deducted from your next pay.

The company is invoiced based on the timesheet and cannot be processed without an authorized approval. The payroll deadline to have timesheets approved by the representative of the company is each Monday by 11:59 p.m. EST. It is important for contract employees to submit their approved timesheet by this deadline each week.

After payroll is processed, we will generate and send an invoice to the company. The invoice must be paid within the payment terms that have been agreed upon. The company’s only responsibilities in this process are to approve the timesheet and pay the invoice based on the company’s vendors, suppliers, and company requirements.

Workers paid on Form 1099-misc do not have taxes withheld from their pay, so they must file and pay the appropriate taxes themselves. The company does not pay the employer share of taxes, and the worker does not have access to the company’s unemployment, Workers’ Compensation, or benefits [medical, dental, vision, 401(k), etc.].

The Internal Revenue Service and state agencies have seen their tax collections suffer due to workers misclassified as 1099 independent contractors and are cracking down with more audits and heavy penalties. Therefore, it is imperative workers are properly classified per the IRS guidelines. Based on those guidelines, less than 1% of our contractors qualify for the 1099 independent contractor (IC) classification.

Use this infographic as an easy visual to determine the differences between a 1099 independent contractor and a W-2 employee.

In situations where the “Temporary Personnel” (contractors) are “Computer Related Professionals” as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), we can pay an hourly wage of not less than $27.63/hour (California requires a higher rate, adjusted annually) without having to pay the overtime premium. Otherwise, the only way we can avoid paying and billing the premium for overtime hours worked by contractors is when they fit the Department of Labor’s definition of an exempt class (Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales) as determined by the FLSA and we pay them on a salary basis. By definition, “salary” means a guaranteed rate of pay regardless of the total number of hours worked. Therefore, this “weekly” option would require us to invoice the client on a weekly “flat rate” basis for the same amount each week, regardless of how few or many hours a contractor works.

Note: This holds true even when the contractors are clearly professionals (civil engineers or nurses). If we pay a professional on an hourly basis, then they are not exempt from the FLSA’s overtime provisions (no matter how much money we pay them). The sole exception to that rule is “Computer Related Professionals,” as described above.

• Social Security Number verification
• Statewide misdemeanor and felony check
• Sex offender
• Address history
• County-level specific checks for the places the contractor has lived