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Employer and Employee Relationships

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Submitted By annie2464
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Employer-Employee Relations

Employer-Employee Relations
In the Little Lamb Scenario, individuals can see that Mary is her own boss and known as an independent contractor working of the Little Lamb Company and not one of their employees. In determining that Mary is not an employee, because Congress responded and stated that an employee is an individual who is “not classified as an independent contractor.” The National Labor Relations Act says, “The term employee shall not include any individual having a status of an independent contractor” however, it will not provide or give a definition of what constitutes independent contractors. The IRS says the following, “The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done” (IRS Independent Contractor, 2013). An independent contractor is any individual who runs his or her own business. When hired by a company the company does not have to withhold federal, Social Security (FICA), state taxes or pay the individual unemployment. In Addition, the company does not have to pay the individual workers compensation insurance because the individual is an independent contractor. People know these individuals as consultants, freelance, self-employed, or business owners. If the company considered Mary an employee, she would have had to complete a trial period of employment before deemed as an integral part of the company or established structure. The employee-employer relationship did not change over the course of time. It did not change because of the contract Mary signed as an independent contractor because the company needed Mary as another programmer on the special project. Mary is dependent on the project for her income from the Little Lamb Company. Mary’s release is legal under the doctrine of employment-at-will because they cannot use the employment-at-will doctrine because terminating Mary was not possible because she is an independent contractor. The Little Lamb Company extended the contract that Mary had for two years. The second project ended because economic conditions caused the company to perform budget cuts, and it was this action, which resulted in letting Mary go from her contract. There was no violation, which occurred, as there was no exception made to the employment-at-will policy because Mary is an independent contractor. The breach of public did not apply in this scenario provided to the class. The resulting effect of Mary’s release does not have an effect on the public society this release from employment was because of the contract ending. There was no breach within the signed contract between Mary and the Little Lamb Company. As individuals, know Public Policy is not a law but a set of norms that people within the society agree upon as a whole. If the Little Lamb Company would have fired Mary this would go against Public Policy and Mary may have a case against the Little Lamb Company. When looking at the laws that involve implied covenant of good faith and fair dealings and the breaking of these laws all parties involved have not done anything to render the performance of said written contract. In looking at the breaking of implied covenant of good and fair dealing does not apply in this scenario of Mary. Because the contract signed by Mary with the Little Lamb Company said the duties, she would perform was in the category of independent contractor. In the covenant of good faith and fair dealings implies that all parties written in a contract must act in good will to ensure the fulfillment of all party’s responsibilities spelled out within the written agreement. After fulfilling the duties, the contract is over and both parties go their own way and with Mary being an independent contractor she is free to sign a contract with another company or individual. The breach of implied contract does not imply to the scenario of Mary. Releasing Mary from her duties because of the company’s budget cuts. The Little Lamb Company hired Mary as an independent contractor to perform specific job duties and with no promises made to Mary that the company would call her back for additional programming services. If the employer has relatives that are qualified for the programming position, the company could decide which person would be the best employee. The Little Lamb Company did not promise to hire Mary again if their economic situation changed and in doing this, the company is not in any violation of implied contract. However, if the manager would have told Mary that the Little Lamb Company will hire her back, as an independent contractor once the company’s economic situation changed Mary would then have a case against the company for a breach of implied contract. The Little Lamb Company chooses to hire a skilled individual to become an employee instead of asking the independent contractor Mary to return under a new contract. The company has this right to make the decision to hire an employee who will follow the company’s policies and work certain hours and have supervision. In this type of situation, it is important to know if he or she is an employee or an independent contractor. If Mary were an employee of the Little Lamb Company instead of an independent contractor, this paper would have a different outcome. Throughout Mary’s contract, the company manager chose to start working closely with Mary and the company provided materials for Mary to use to ensure to keep with company standards. Even with the company supplying the materials, Mary was still under a contract and not hired by the company to become an employee. Reading the scenario it is possible to miss read the information because Mary worked a certain schedule to ensure completion of the work within the time set within the contract she had with the Little Lamb Company. However, in the end Mary is still responsible for paying her own taxes and insurances because she is still an independent contractor and is under no supervision and can set her own hours and can also choose which job or jobs she specializes in and is still her own boss.

References
Independent Contractor Defined. (2013, January 10). Retrieved from http://www.irs.gov/Business/Small-Business-&-Self-Employed/Independent-Contracto-Definedr LaMance, K. (2013, May). Wrongful Termination that Violates Public Policy. Retrieved from http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/wrongful-termination-that-violates-public-policy.html
Mathews, S. T., & Lancaster, K. (2013, July). Breach of Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing. Retrieved from http://jamespublishing.com/articles_forms/civillitigation/elements_breach_contract_good_faith.htm
Wrongful Termination. (2007, January). Retrieved from http://www.wrongfultermination.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68

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