What legal tests could be employed to determine whether Joy is an independent contractor or employee? Based on these tests, what is your conclusion as to Joy’s status: independent contractor or employee?

CASE STUDY

Scenario:

Joy, an estate planner, works on a contract basis for our clients at Strong Estates. On occasion, we contract Joy to handle a specific client for a specific estate planning job. Per our contract with Joy for these specific clients, she is paid a commission on a weekly basis based on the overall fee received by the firm. When working for these specific clients, Joy is able to use our office space, equipment, and any supplies necessary to complete the job. To ensure a consistent work product and regulatory compliance, Joy submits her work to a supervisor, who approves it and sends it to the client on behalf of our firm. Recently, we had to lay Joy off in the middle of a job, and she filed for unemployment compensation.

Research relevant U.S labor laws on employee protection and personnel management.

Write a 850-word paper that will create awareness of the basic labor laws related to personnel management among the organization’s employees.

Address the following in your paper:

• What legal tests could be employed to determine whether Joy is an independent contractor or employee?
• Based on these tests, what is your conclusion as to Joy’s status: independent contractor or employee?
• Discuss the applicable labor laws for protecting 1) the employee and 2) the independent contractor.
• Discuss your thoughts on the organization’s liabilities when a contractor gets terminated from service.