01 How do you map the parties behind the interface?
List the legal name of the client counterparty, each staffing or payroll entity, any subcontractor, and the entity that employs or engages the worker. Follow the invoice from client to recipient and the payment from employer or engager to worker. Then identify whose terms govern cancellations, disputes, time approval, and data use. A single interface can conceal several contracts. The map should be configuration-specific. If the seller offers software-only, managed, payroll, and agency services, do not combine their answers. Record which service is quoted, which entities participate, and which facts would change if the client selects another tier or market.
Authority to review: IRS — Employee (common-law employee)
02 Which work-control facts belong in the comparison?
Document who proposes the worker, sets the call time, supplies event instructions, can reject or reassign a worker, approves hours, provides equipment, and resolves performance issues. Those facts can inform different legal tests, but no single item should be treated as a universal answer. The IRS and Department of Labor use distinct frameworks, and states may apply additional standards. Ask counsel to evaluate the evidence under the laws that apply to the role and location. Procurement's job is to capture accurate facts and avoid turning vendor terminology into a legal conclusion.
Authority to review: IRS — Employee (common-law employee)
03 How should insurance and safety responsibilities be compared?
Request current evidence tied to the entity performing the work, then read the contract for coverage requirements, exclusions, notice duties, and allocation of responsibilities. A certificate is useful evidence but does not by itself explain every policy term or determine legal responsibility. Escalate material gaps to qualified insurance and legal reviewers. For temporary work at a client site, document who communicates hazards, provides training and protective equipment, reports incidents, and controls the work area. OSHA's temporary-worker materials emphasize coordination between staffing agencies and host employers.
Authority to review: OSHA — Protecting Temporary Workers
04 What makes an order comparison decision-ready?
Use the same fields for every proposal: accepted scope, assigned entities, worker relationship, rate and approved charges, confirmation milestones, change authority, timekeeping, absence reporting, replacement process, insurance evidence, safety allocation, and record access. Mark unknowns instead of filling them with category assumptions. The result should explain why the selected arrangement fits the event and which conditions remain open. That record is more durable than a score based on a fixed public screening list, because it can adapt to role, jurisdiction, venue, timing, and service configuration.
Authority to review: OSHA — Protecting Temporary Workers
