Essay Example on The definition of the degree of control and independence of an employee

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The below analysis of factors pertaining to the employee hired by Dream Massage qualifies him as an independent contractor To arrive at this decision I would like to define the degree of control and independence of an employee in 3 categories as follows 1 Behavioral In case of a direct employee the company controls or has the right to control the worker's role tasks schedule code of conduct and performance on his job 2 Financial The company pays for the worker s job related expenses and reimbursements provides for tools supplies fixed pay benefits and perks 3 Type of Relationship The employees are bound by written contracts and employee type benefits i e pension plan insurance vacation pay etc The employee has a long term relationship that continues unlike in the case of a contractor where the contract ends after a certain time frame that has been prior approved Also the employee mostly performs a key aspect of the business unlike an independent contractor In the case of Dream Massage the new employee is deprived of the financial benefits insurance vacation time off and tax withholdings and has been hired for a certain contract period However the employer is taking compete responsibility of setting up a defined work schedule provides her clients and all her massage products and exercises complete control over how she does her work Weighing all these factors in the situation of Dream Massage it indicates that the worker is being treated as a direct employee while financial factors indicate that the worker has been originally hired as an independent contractor Hence the status is not very clear and is obscure 



There is no fixed set of factors that makes the worker an employee or an independent contractor and no one factor stands alone in making this determination Discuss whether Dream Massage has potentially violated any employment discrimination laws It is important to know the difference as different laws and requirements apply to each classification As per FLSA an employer must withhold income taxes withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes and pay unemployment tax on wages in case of an employee Considering the entire working relationship and the degree or extent of the right to direct and control the employer exercises on the employee's work schedules and her work performance and expects her to adhere to a certain dress code enforced by the company but abstains from paying the due benefits clearly indicates that she is being controlled as an employee but discriminated on grounds of equal pay for equal work as she has originally been hired as a contractor This is in clear violation of the Federal Equal Pay Act that requires any employer that is already subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act the federal wage and hour law to provide equal pay to men and women who perform equal work unless the difference in pay is caused by differences in seniority merit or some other factor that is not based upon sex https www eeoc gov laws statutes epa cfm This Dream Massage is in violation of Equal 

Employment Opportunities Commission Act and Civil Right Act 1964 By making her remove her hijab they are discriminating her on grounds of religion or national origin Hence the independent contractor status has been misclassified by Dream Massage and as per fair labor codes the employer is required overtime breaks and minimum wages to the massage



therapist in order to avoid charges for discrimination Analyze the ethical considerations behind maintaining a rigid company dress policy As per Title VII of the Federal law governing employment discrimination an employer should not discriminate their employees based on religion Croskery Hannon 2014 In the scenario Dream Massage enforced removal of employee s hijab which is considered a religious and national origin attire for Muslims Therefore this is a case of discrimination based on religion and is considered unethical Hence Dream Massage should reassess its rigid dress policy to include positive ethical considerations This can be done by implementing fair dress code policy across the board The dress code policy should not be based off one s religion or national origin as in the case of Dream massage Conclusion After consideration of the statutory factors that the IRS has laid out for establishing the correct status of a massage therapist by Dream Massage such as how the massage therapist received work instructions who pays for supplies and materials used by the worker and benefits provided under the relationship and whether the arrangement can be readily terminated it is not very clear if the therapist is an independent contractor or an employee Hence it is important to reclassify the business relationship between the massage therapist who actually perform the work and Dream Massage This is because the link presents important legal and taxation implications for both the business and the massage therapist


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