Can I be fired for filing IRS Form SS-8?

I am an "independent contractor" working in Florida, and I am about 99% sure after much online research and telephone calls to the IRS that I am misclified; meaning, I am actually an employee and not a contractor. In the years I've been with the company, making a VERY meager wage as my sole source of income, I have paid $1,000-$2,000 in self-employment tax every year. According to the IRS, if I file a Form SS-8 to have the IRS make a determination of my actual status, and they decree that I am in fact an employee, then I will get back all of the undue money I paid (there is a three-year statute of limitations, so the money I paid in that timeframe). However, I am terrified that by doing this, when my employer finds out it is me (there is no way around it) then I will be fired. I have been seeking another job for months but the job market is bogus right now. If I don't find one soon, there is no way I can afford the tax bill come Apr '09. Can they fire me? Is there anything I can do?