Q Over the past 20 years, employers began relying on part-time, temporary, and contract employees to reduce costs, increase flexibility and reduce benefit costs. Employees feel it is discriminatory for employers to exploit the labor market by using part-time workers and temps to keep labor costs down for one segment of the work while paying full value for another segment. In the past few years, numerous laws and tax changes have been proposed to try to regulate this area of the industry better. Please review the “YouDecide” content which is located under the Week 1. We will begin our discussion by debating whether Karen is an independent contractor, or a full-time employee. Your first post should answer these two questions: 1. Do you feel that Karen is an independent contractor or an employee? 2. What is your rationale for this decision? Your instructor will return with additional questions and move you through the law on independent contractors (IC) vs. employees throughout the week. Be ready to engage!