I.T. Consulting for my full time company's client, on the side
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 5,663
Likes: 235
From: West Los Angeles, CA
Depends on the labor laws in your state, of course. In California, if you are an employee, your employer can require you to NOT do other work of similar nature for other companies or individuals. However, there are a number of details on this so it's important to look such things up and confirm for your specific instance and your specific state.
In California, labor laws are very clear in one particular area that defines differences between contractors and employees. A contractor can (actually, must) have income from other forms of business while an employee can be told he/she can't. So if you are a contractor, you can do what you want. As an employee, you can be limited.
At a particular large educational institution where I used to work here, we were given very explicit instructions regarding being solicited to do outside work for staff members at the college off-campus: no can do. Causes too many conflicts if things go wrong.
My personal experience is that it provides far too many opportunities for muddying of the waters. If this other firm is really a professional deal, they should want a tech firm to support them which is available 24/7, has a business license, and has appropriate insurance for the kind of work being performed (including errors and omissions). Not saying you are bad at what you do or are likely to screw something up, but we are all human and when mistakes happen, you have to be covered. In ten years I've never had to make use of any business insurance (the one router I managed to fry with the wrong power cord I just replaced on my own dime), but I still have it. And at *some* point they will need someone in the middle of the day during normal business hours and what will you/they do?
P.S. Anyway, like what Unkie said, so much potential for things to go wrong which could put you in a very bad spot. God help you if something bad happens which has nothing to do with you but causes litigation between your employer and the client. Oh boy, talk about a seriously bad spot for you since IT is always pulled into these things to provide copies of email histories, etc.
In California, labor laws are very clear in one particular area that defines differences between contractors and employees. A contractor can (actually, must) have income from other forms of business while an employee can be told he/she can't. So if you are a contractor, you can do what you want. As an employee, you can be limited.
At a particular large educational institution where I used to work here, we were given very explicit instructions regarding being solicited to do outside work for staff members at the college off-campus: no can do. Causes too many conflicts if things go wrong.
My personal experience is that it provides far too many opportunities for muddying of the waters. If this other firm is really a professional deal, they should want a tech firm to support them which is available 24/7, has a business license, and has appropriate insurance for the kind of work being performed (including errors and omissions). Not saying you are bad at what you do or are likely to screw something up, but we are all human and when mistakes happen, you have to be covered. In ten years I've never had to make use of any business insurance (the one router I managed to fry with the wrong power cord I just replaced on my own dime), but I still have it. And at *some* point they will need someone in the middle of the day during normal business hours and what will you/they do?
P.S. Anyway, like what Unkie said, so much potential for things to go wrong which could put you in a very bad spot. God help you if something bad happens which has nothing to do with you but causes litigation between your employer and the client. Oh boy, talk about a seriously bad spot for you since IT is always pulled into these things to provide copies of email histories, etc.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 2,140
Likes: 162
From: Johnstown, PA
Depends on the labor laws in your state, of course. In California, if you are an employee, your employer can require you to NOT do other work of similar nature for other companies or individuals. However, there are a number of details on this so it's important to look such things up and confirm for your specific instance and your specific state.
In California, labor laws are very clear in one particular area that defines differences between contractors and employees. A contractor can (actually, must) have income from other forms of business while an employee can be told he/she can't. So if you are a contractor, you can do what you want. As an employee, you can be limited.
At a particular large educational institution where I used to work here, we were given very explicit instructions regarding being solicited to do outside work for staff members at the college off-campus: no can do. Causes too many conflicts if things go wrong.
My personal experience is that it provides far too many opportunities for muddying of the waters. If this other firm is really a professional deal, they should want a tech firm to support them which is available 24/7, has a business license, and has appropriate insurance for the kind of work being performed (including errors and omissions). Not saying you are bad at what you do or are likely to screw something up, but we are all human and when mistakes happen, you have to be covered. In ten years I've never had to make use of any business insurance (the one router I managed to fry with the wrong power cord I just replaced on my own dime), but I still have it. And at *some* point they will need someone in the middle of the day during normal business hours and what will you/they do?
P.S. Anyway, like what Unkie said, so much potential for things to go wrong which could put you in a very bad spot. God help you if something bad happens which has nothing to do with you but causes litigation between your employer and the client. Oh boy, talk about a seriously bad spot for you since IT is always pulled into these things to provide copies of email histories, etc.
In California, labor laws are very clear in one particular area that defines differences between contractors and employees. A contractor can (actually, must) have income from other forms of business while an employee can be told he/she can't. So if you are a contractor, you can do what you want. As an employee, you can be limited.
At a particular large educational institution where I used to work here, we were given very explicit instructions regarding being solicited to do outside work for staff members at the college off-campus: no can do. Causes too many conflicts if things go wrong.
My personal experience is that it provides far too many opportunities for muddying of the waters. If this other firm is really a professional deal, they should want a tech firm to support them which is available 24/7, has a business license, and has appropriate insurance for the kind of work being performed (including errors and omissions). Not saying you are bad at what you do or are likely to screw something up, but we are all human and when mistakes happen, you have to be covered. In ten years I've never had to make use of any business insurance (the one router I managed to fry with the wrong power cord I just replaced on my own dime), but I still have it. And at *some* point they will need someone in the middle of the day during normal business hours and what will you/they do?
P.S. Anyway, like what Unkie said, so much potential for things to go wrong which could put you in a very bad spot. God help you if something bad happens which has nothing to do with you but causes litigation between your employer and the client. Oh boy, talk about a seriously bad spot for you since IT is always pulled into these things to provide copies of email histories, etc.
The other company is a 5 million dollar company, in metal fabrication. Only 24 workstations, 3 small servers. No real need for a full time IT staffer and according to them they are alright with a 24 hour response time from me in order to save money with their current firm at $150/hr for subpar work.
I plan on creating a LLC for myself for insurance purposes. I will check into the labor laws in PA.
Thanks for the in-depth reply!
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 5,663
Likes: 235
From: West Los Angeles, CA
The other company is a 5 million dollar company, in metal fabrication. Only 24 workstations, 3 small servers. No real need for a full time IT staffer and according to them they are alright with a 24 hour response time from me in order to save money with their current firm at $150/hr for subpar work.
I plan on creating a LLC for myself for insurance purposes. I will check into the labor laws in PA.
Thanks for the in-depth reply!
I plan on creating a LLC for myself for insurance purposes. I will check into the labor laws in PA.
Thanks for the in-depth reply!
LLC doesn't get you insurance. Only gets you an $800 a year SOS fee (or whatever your state charges), an EIN, and a bit of protection of your personal assets from being levied in case you are sued. Insurance is separate which you also pay for (go with a firm that specializes in IT service providers). And don't forget your business license aka your local city tax for the privilege of doing business within the confines of the city where the client happens to be. Yep, I have to have a business license in the incorporated city where each of my clients is located *and* where my office happens to be. Since you will be home office based, the one for your office will be minimal.
It gets complicated (and expensive) if you are serious about being a consultant and you want to do it legally. That is why consultants have to charge what seems to some to be such a high hourly rate. If your client had to pay a salary to even a part time IT employee, they would be paying what they pay a consultant once they factor in social security, benefits, etc.
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