By Jodi R. Bohr, Gallagher & Kennedy, P.A.
Needing workers to assist with the business is an almost certain eventuality as a company grows. The first and probably most important question an employer asks itself is whether the worker should be classified as an employee or an independent contractor.
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Whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor isn’t determined by the label placed on him in a contract. Instead, the determination hinges on several factors that make up the economic realities of the relationship.
Joan Smith and Roberta Tate worked as resident assistants (RAs) at Pine Tower, a senior housing facility owned and operated by the city of Phoenix. Both RAs signed a “Tenant Resident Assistant Agreement” each year that stated they were independent contractors, not employees of the city.