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Although many factors are considered, and no one factor by itself is controlling, the
following basic principles often apply in determining whether
a worker is an employee or an independent contractor:
Generally, the employer/employee relationship exists when the person for whom services are performed
has the right to control and direct the individual who performs
the services, not only as to the result to be accomplished
by the work, but also as to the details and means
by which that result is accomplished. That is, an employee, and
not an independent contractor, is subject to the will and control
of the employer not just as to "what" shall be done,
but "how" it shall be done.
The right to discharge is also an important factor indicating that the person possessing
that right is an employer, and the person subject to it is an
employee. Other factors characteristic of an employer-employee
relationship are the furnishing of tools, materials and
a place to work to the individual who performs the services.
Independent contractors are persons who are in business for themselves. Their business
is usually different from the business of the person for whom
the work is performed. Generally, those who follow an independent
trade, business, or profession, in which they offer their services
to the public, and who may be in a position to suffer financial
loss rather than a guaranteed wage, are independent contractors
and not employees. Persons involved in certain professions
and occupations are often conducting business as independent contractors.
These include physicians, lawyers, dentists, veterinarians, construction
contractors and subcontractors, certified public accountants,
etc. However, many persons with these occupations work for firms,
associations, institutions, leasing companies or organizations
and, in those cases, may be employees and not independent contractors.
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