"client is adamant she is an employee."

The opinions of the taxpayer and the people they are working for/with, do not matter. There are State and Federal labor laws and the IRS has worker classification tests.

1. Doesn't matter.

2. Doesn't matter. In fact, there are no withholdings for this, and a Contract for services would never need to include tax advice.

3. Control, schedule, risk and materials/equipment matter. Having a contract is meaningless to worker classification; it does not skirt the law. Of course she pays "all" the taxes. We all pay all the taxes. The difference is, as an independent consultant, the employer share is also my tax expense.

6. "if a W-9, then I think that would cinch it that she is an employee."

W-9 is instead W-4. W-2 is what the employee is issued at year end. W-4 and I-9 is part of hiring. W-9 simply is a "provide your name and tax info" request. Just because someone presents specific paperwork does not define the relationship.

"The amount she made btw is $9200."

Meaningless.

"She does not have any control, her hours, place of work, etc., use of their offices and equipment all lean toward employee - but there is that contract also!"

Everything points to that employer being wrong. She can "turn them in" to the State and/or Feds, or just approach them about this. She is coming up to the 18 month limit, right? She has to decide if she wants to take this on for this year, and for the future people that are going to be similarly misclassified.

Unless this employer can show some ruling from the State and/or Feds, it seems they are breaking the law(s).

Having a contract, having some 18 month period, etc, is not part of any law I have ever seen that makes this Non-employee. What an employer would do is to have these people go through a Temp Placement agency, so that they don't become "direct hire" until the 18 months are up and a decision was made. I've never seen a process where they are allowed to do this inhouse.

You'd have to look into this further, to understand under what condition they think this is legal.