<p>She would definitely be covered by sexual harassment, etc., provisions even as an independent contractor. Those laws apply to everyone and anyone at the worksite - employees, contractors, vendors, etc. The independent contractor is just related to the pay regulations as @ucbalumnus has posted. </p>
<p>Small companies and start-ups will pay less. The trade-off for a start-up is usually getting some stock options, which usually would not be included for an independent contractor. But this sounds a bit low to me, unless it is providing experience she is really interested in. </p>