You are a better person than I. But, then, long experience ....

Not a better person, just one experienced at cold calling on people who, according to their IRS account record, owed money. I quickly learned that those records weren't always right, so "Our records indicate that you owe..." gave the taxpayer a chance to raise the issue while relations were still cordial. Much easier to get information from people when everyone's playing nice.

Back to OP's situation, I have run into employers who misclassified workers because they didn't know better and quickly fixed things when shown the error of their ways. I've run into more who know full well what they're doing. In either event, it costs OP's son nothing to find out which he's dealing with before proceeding.

Phil
Rule Your Retirement Home Fool