Maria Anastas discusses the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) independent contractor classification tests in a BLR webinar entitled ‘Employee versus Independent Contractor: Where’s the Line? How to Make the Proper Call and Stay Out of Court’. She explains the conditions surrounding the IRS test that involves the type of relationship which exists between parties. Facts that show the parties' type of relationship include:

• Written contracts describing the relationship the parties intended to create
• Whether or not the business provides the worker with employee-type benefits such as insurance, a pension plan, vacation pay, or sick pay
• The permanency of the relationship. If employers engage the worker with the expectation that the relationship will continue indefinitely, rather than for a specific project or period, this is generally considered evidence that the employer's intent was to create an employer-employee relationship
• The extent to which services performed by the worker are a key aspect of the regular business of the company. If a worker provides services that are a key aspect of the employer's regular business activity, it is more likely that the employer will have the right to direct and control his or her activities

Maria Anastas is a partner in the San Francisco office of law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, PC (www.ogletreedeakins.com ). She represents employers in labor and employment law matters exclusively, with a primary emphasis on traditional labor matters. She handles union organizing drives and corporate campaigns, collective bargaining and arbitration, and proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). She also devotes a substantial portion of her practice to providing employers with practical advice on a wide variety of employment law issues. She can be reached at maria.anastas@ogletreedeakins.com.