I assume you are offering to work as a consultant AFTER you get laid off, not before. If you essentially quit now and start as a consultant, then they run out of work, you will get no unemployment. So don't do it before you get laid off.

If you get laid off, that would be fine to offer to work as a consultant, but I would assume if they can't pay you as an employee, they can't afford you as a consultant either. You would have to charge more to cover the additional taxes you will owe as a self employed person.

But assuming they do hire you, remember that the money you earn will reduce your unemployment benefits. Rules vary by state, so check it out.

I once was laid off and worked as a consultant to another firm for about 3 months until I got hired back at my original firm.

I did this-wasn't laid off, but went back to work as an independent consultant. I had benefits through my husband, so i could work just for the pay...I would put away about 25% of my check into a separate account for taxes which I paid quarterly. It is cheaper for them b/c they don't have to pay benefits. etc for you, and I ended up making more than my original salary which benefited me! but that was b/c I didn't need the benefits.
Good luck!

Thanks for your comments! Tinydancer and Archie, did either of you get some form of insurance while you were contracting? Did you sign a new contract with your workplace to officially become an IC? And lastly, did you have to work in your old office, or did you work from home?

The reason for the questions is that I've been reading up on IC liabilities and IRS requirements, in case you ever get audited. I feel somewhat relieved that I could explore this option if my full time gig disappeared.

Also Tinydancer, I think I could work for just pay and make it work. I'll either get COBRA health insurance or my insurance through my husband's work. Hey, some income is better than nothing...

corb - you wouldn't need liability insurance for your actions while working as a contractor to another architect. in the end, the courts would construe your actions the same way they would if you were employed by him/her.

it gets trickier once you're doing work on your own - personally, despite the cost, i'd recommend getting some basic insurance, even (and maybe especially) if you're doing residential. one easy thing you can try to do in your contracts is write in a limit of liability, which can be capped at whatever amount you can get away with. on our residential work, we have a stipulation which says the maximum cap on liability is the fee itself. it may not always hold in court, but if the client has signed it, then it's harder for them to prove they didn't know. more importantly, it's a kind of deterrent - if the fee isn't very much, then there's a strong perception of there not being enough to waste time on with a suit.

I didn't have insurance but I signed a contract with my employer that stated I was an independent contractor but as outed said, any owrk I did for them as an IC was covered under their insurance. (not my personal insurance or workers comp though-which I didn't have) If you can get insurance through your husband it will be MUCH cheaper than COBRA.

tinydance - I am in the same boat. When I was laid off I was told that if we wanted they might have freelance work for us. I have inquired back to them about the possibility and had a received a good reception. I am now just waiting for the contract/freelance work to develop. I'll keep you informed if anything comes from it.

If you work as a "captive consultant" to your current firm, or as a contract-employee to another office, you don't need insurance beyond car insurance if you'll drive your car to a job-site. You don't need liability insurance because you won't stamp drawings - and don't stamp any drawings.

If you work as a contract-employee or consultant, be sure to set aside monies for quarterly federal tax and social security payments, and remember that SS tax will be higher because you're now "self-employed". You'll need to read up on tax programs, or get a tax accountant. You will realize less net pay do to tax payments. But you will be able to deduct against your income a variety of costs, including travel, lunch, business entertainment, supplies, books, etc. Again, read up on tax code.

Health insurance is the hard part; AIA offers a basic health insurance plan, good for healthy single men for most part. Check COBRA cost from your employer; new Stimulus Plan compels employers to now pay 60% of COBRA for terminated employees - you pay 40% of cost. Try hard not to go without insurance; it's a risky gamble because many health care providers will turn you away without insurance without you signing a contract agreement to pay all costs.

Not sure whether you're licensed. But if so, and you do projects under your own license-stamp, then you need to decide whether insurance is needed. If your assets total is low, then you're an unlikely candidate to be sued for damages. Attorneys are interested in claims cases only if there is a sizable insurance policy or asset pool to attack. Some small architects "go bare" (w/o professional insurance) because they are too small to be a likely target. Also, you can LLC in some instances to lessen personal liability exposure. Again, check your state's legal requirements for LLC.