[madeofpalk]

He's a contractor, so can't he just submit an invoice and receive a payment? Or does 'contractor' mean something different in the US?

If he missed out on pay then it's because no one cared enough/someone didn't care enough to sort it out.

[ashelmire]

"Contractor" in tech means, "we want you as an employee but we're too cheap to obey the laws involved or make a commitment, so here's a 3 year contract, hope this never goes to court!". Frankly, it's a way for companies to avoid the law, though California at least has recently made this an illegal sort of arrangement via new work rules.