Oyster Shell Overview

At Oyster, we’ve built a global employment platform with deep, accurate employment intelligence. As you expand your global workforce, you can always access our misclassification analyzer to make informed decisions on whether to engage someone as a contractor or a full-time employee based on their misclassification risk level. 

To offer you an additional layer of protection from misclassification risks when you engage a contractor on the Oyster platform, you have the option of subscribing to Oyster Shell.

Oyster Shell offers additional protection for engaged contractors by reimbursing certain claims or losses when engaged contractors are deemed to be misclassified up to $50,000 USD per claim with an aggregate limit of $500,000 USD per customer.

Oyster Shell protects you against costs associated with:

• Fees and expenses related to a misclassification claim;
• Costs of complying with a regulatory order for a misclassification determination;
• Taxes or loss of a tax benefits due to reclassifying a contractor as an an employee; and
• Fines, penalties, and settlements resulting from misclassification.

Ultimately, Oyster Shell reduces your misclassification exposure when you engage a contractor in reliance on Oyster’s proprietary misclassification analyzer. In short, we stand behind the accuracy of the information provided via our tool so you have confidence your engagements comply with applicable law.

Cost

Oyster Shell is an add-on and it costs $49 USD per contractor per month in addition to the standard $29 monthly contractor product fee.

Eligibility

To be eligible, You must:

• Use Oyster’s standard professional services agreement, without modifications or revisions, to engage an independent contractor;
• Complete the eligibility check and it indicated that your contract has a low or moderate level of misclassification risk;
• Engage the contractor in a country outside of the one where you are headquartered, or have a related, subsidiary entity; and
• Pay the $49 USD per month to subscribe to Oyster Shell for each individual contractor engagement. Your right to participate in Oyster Shell on a month to month basis is conditioned on your timely payment of the $49 USD subscription fee.

Please note that your eligibility is impacted by the accuracy of the information you provide in the Oyster Shell eligibility check. If, for example, you have misrepresented information to pass the eligibility check, or the scope of your engagement has changed such that it’s no longer consistent with your prior responses, your eligibility for Oyster Shell may be impacted. 

How to enroll

New contractors

1. Sign up or log in to your Oyster account. 
2. Click Hire > Start hiring and complete all mandatory fields.
3. Check off the Oyster Shell box: By making the selection, you’re agreeing to pay an additional $49 USD per month in exchange for up to $50,000 USD in coverage.
4. Answer a few questions to check your eligibility for Oyster Shell
5. Invite your contractor to the Oyster platform to review the information and begin onboarding.

Existing contractors

1. Sign up or log in to your Oyster account. 
2. Click Team > Team members and select your contractor
3. Select "Protection tab" and activate Oyster Shell
   
4. Answer a few questions to check your eligibility for Oyster Shell
5. Contractor reviews answers. Once he confirms, Oyster Shell will be activated

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is it too risky to opt out of Oyster Shell when engaging contractors?
  • No, the risk of each contractor engagement depends on the nature of the role and their relationship to your business. Each role is different, some riskier than others. Further, the risk in each country is different. In short, the risk of a contractor engagement is complex and multifactorial. Oyster Shell helps you mitigate the risk in these complex, ambiguous circumstances.
• Can Oyster deny or terminate my Oyster Shell?
  • Yes, in both instances. Oyster can deny your request if we determine that the information provided during the engagement flow is not accurate, or Oyster Shell cannot be supported for a particular engagement. We can terminate your access to Oyster Shell but only after providing you proper notice under our terms and conditions.
• Can I cancel my Oyster Shell subscription?
  • Absolutely, for any reason or no reason by contacting our support team
• Is there any instance when Oyster may not cover a misclassification claim?
  • Yes, it’s possible and it will depend on the details of each misclassification case and the language of the applicable policy. Some of those instances include:
    • You have used a custom contract or a side agreement with the contractor outside of the standard engagement model offered through the Oyster Platform;
    • You have been notified that the ongoing engagement of a specific contractor is high risk due to a change in laws, or new information made available in the platform; or
    • Any violation of law or other criminal, fraudulent, negligent, or malicious act by you which gives rise to the misclassification finding.
• What should I do if a misclassification claim is made against me for an Oyster Shell engagement
  • You must notify Oyster immediately by contacting our support team. Upon receiving notice, Oyster will investigate the claim and you must cooperate with our investigation which includes providing all information we request to process and file the claim. Failure to timely report the claim or cooperate in our defense may result in the claim being denied.

Through Oyster Shell, we ensure our misclassification eligibility check operates as it's intended so you can rely on the accuracy of the output. The promise is simple: if you sustain a loss because of our tool and the inaccuracy of its information, we cover the risk of that loss, which means that defense costs, liabilities, and penalties arising out of a misclassification determination are our responsibility subject to our Terms and any applicable policy.