Independent Contractor or Part-Time Employee

Case Study – CS12.1 – Independent Contractor or Part-time Employee

1. EcoSafe might prefer to engage Laney as an independent contractor because they would not be required to pay overtime or minimum wage, Laney does not need the insurance coverage, she is financially not dependent on the company since she has her own business. It also would be good to have her as an independent contractor because that means she can be terminated at any point.

2. The question of Laney becoming an independent contractor relies 2 important test: the right to control and the economic reality test. With the right to control you can determine whether the individuals are actually independent contractors or employees. If we look at this test, since Laney has to have everything approved by Elaine, the office will be furnished for her, they will be sharing an assistant, and is also going to be required to come into work on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays which indicates control, this all points that Laney is an employee, not an independent contractor. The second test we can look at is the economic reality test. This test is to determine the financial dependency of the contractor. First it looks at the extent of control that the person has over methods and result. Elaine must approve everything. Also we look at the importance of the workers service for the company which is very big in this case to expand the business into the commercial landscaping scene. The skill level required for this position is very high as she will be the main point person for anything in the marketing department. Looking at all of these criteria, I think it would show that Laney is more an employee than an independent contractor.

3. There are some other flexible work alternatives to consider such as flextime, compressed workweeks, and telecommuting. Flextime schedule is pretty much what the case has lent itself too, so Elaine could consider offering Laney compressed workweeks which enables the employees to...