Employee vs. Independent Contractor: Factor 4 – Right to Discharge
This is a fourth installment in of our Employee vs. Independent Contractor series. The fourth factor in determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor is the "right to discharge." In essence, the question is "whether the worker can be let go by the company for any reason regardless of performance."
If a worker can be fired for any reason then they are more likely to be an employee than they would be an independent contractor. Generally, an independent contractor would have a contract with the employer to perform a job. If the employer "fired" the independent contractor before the completion of the work then he would most likely be in breach of the contract. However, in most states, employees are considered to be "at will" meaning they can be fired at any time for any reason or no reason at all.
Next time, we will look into the fifth element which is the integral nature of the worker to the job being performed.
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