Independent Contractor

Independent Contractor
"Legal Lexicon":
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR - A person or business who performs services for another person under an express or implied agreement and who is not subject to the other's control, or right to control, the manner and means of performing the services; not as an employee. One who engages an independent contractor is not liable to others for the acts or omissions of the independent contractor.
Employee vs. Independent Contractor
The distinction between the two are most often relevant in the tax arena and most other areas of law adopt, in one form or the other, tax case law in their definitions.
There are a number of factors which to consider in making the decision whether people are employees or independent contractors. No one factor is controlling. And a designation of the relationship by the parties is also not controlling.
One of the most important considerations is the degree of control exercised by the company over the work of the workers. An employer has the right to control an employee. Thus, it is important to determine whether the company had the right to direct and control the workers not only as to the results desired, but also as to the details, manner and means by which the results were accomplished. You should ask yourself, for example, whether the company had the right to control the number and the frequency of breaks, how the workers performed their work, the type of equipment they could use, and their work schedule. If you find that the company had the right to supervise and control such details, and the manner and means by which the results were to be accomplished, such a finding would indicate an employer-employee relationship. On the other hand, the absence of those elements of supervision and control by the company would support a finding that the workers were independent contractors and not employees. In this regard it should be kept in mind that it is the right to control and not the actual exercise of control that is important.
Another factor to be considered is whether the workers were individually carrying on an independent business or whether they regularly worked in the course of the company's general business. For this purpose you may consider whether they advertised or generally offered their services to others; whether or not they as individuals, or as a group, used a business name in dealing with company for the purpose of contracting their services; whether they listed themselves in any business capacity in city or telephone directories; whether they maintained their own offices or place of work; whether they procured necessary licenses for the carrying on of their activities; whether they supplied their own tools or equipment; and any other evidence tending to show that they were carrying on an independent business as individuals or as a group.
Another factor to be considered is the term and duration of the relationship between the company and the workers. The relationship of an independent contractor generally contemplates the completion of an agreed service and result within a stipulated period of time. On the other hand, an employment relationship generally contemplates a continuous rendering of services for an indefinite time.
Also, an independent contractor is generally one who has the opportunity to make a profit, or the risk of taking an out-of-pocket loss, while an employee generally does not have that opportunity nor does he take that risk. Thus, an employee is generally paid on a time or piece-work or commission basis, whereas an independent contractor is ordinarily paid an agreed amount, or according to an agreed formula, for a given job.

English-Chinese law dictionary (法律英汉双解大词典). 2013.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • independent contractor — n: one that contracts to do work or perform a service for another and that retains total and free control over the means or methods used in doing the work or performing the service compare employee Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam… …   Law dictionary

  • independent contractor — UK US noun [C] (ABBREVIATION IC) TAX, LAW ► a person or company that supplies goods or services to another company: »An employer is free to use the services of employees or independent contractors. → Compare EMPLOYEE STATUS(Cf. ↑employee status …   Financial and business terms

  • Independent contractor — An independent contractor is a natural person, business or corporation which provides goods or services to another entity under terms specified in a contract or within a verbal agreement. Unlike an employee, an independent contractor does not… …   Wikipedia

  • Independent Contractor — A self employed taxpayer that controls his or her own employment circumstances, including when and how work is done. Independent contractors are not considered to be employees and must pay their own Social Security tax. It is up to the employer… …   Investment dictionary

  • independent contractor — Generally, one who, in exercise of an independent employment, contracts to do a piece of work according to his own methods and is subject to his employer s control only as to end product or final result of his work. Hammes v. Suk, 291 Minn. 233,… …   Black's law dictionary

  • independent contractor — Generally, one who, in exercise of an independent employment, contracts to do a piece of work according to his own methods and is subject to his employer s control only as to end product or final result of his work. Hammes v. Suk, 291 Minn. 233,… …   Black's law dictionary

  • independent contractor — One who, exercising independence in respect of his choice of work to be performed by him, contracts to do or perform certain work for another person according to his own means and methods, without being subject to the control of such other person …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • independent contractor —    A person who is hired (i.e., contracted) to work for another to do a specific job, and who retains control over how the job is done. Such a contractor does not qualify as a statutory employee under the day to day control of the employer (i.e …   Business law dictionary

  • independent contractor — noun A person working independently, under a contract; a self employed person …   Wiktionary

  • independent contractor — /ɪndəˈpɛndənt ˌkɒntræktə/ (say induh penduhnt .kontraktuh) noun a person who undertakes to perform work for another for a consideration and who, unlike an employee, retains control in the performance of it, subject only to the terms of the… …  

  • independent contractor — noun : one that contracts to do work or perform a service for another and that retains total and free control over the means or methods used in doing the work or performing the service …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”