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Lesniewski v. W.B. Furze Corp.2/23/1998
tive direction to an employee because of an employee's superior expertise, but the lack of direction does not turn the employee into an independent contractor. Ibid.
There are several factors to be considered in determining whether a master-servant relationship exists under the "control test." These factors include, among others, evidence of the right of control, right of termination, furnishing of equipment, and method of payment. Aetna Ins. Co. v. Trans American Trucking Service, Inc., 261 N.J. Super. 316, 327 (App. Div. 1993).
Under the "relative nature of the work test," an employer-employee relationship will be found if there is a "functional integration" of their respective operations. Caicco v. Toto Brothers, Inc., 62 N.J. 305, 310 (1973); see also Rossnagle v. Capra, 127 N.J. Super. 507, 517 (App. Div. 1973) (stating that a "court will inquire into whether the work done by the petitioner was an integral part of the regular business of the respondent. If such is found then the court will determine that an employment relationship existed."), aff'd o.b., 64 N.J. 549 (1974).
Furze Corp. maintains that as an individual Furze was in an employer/employee relationship with EJ's beginning in January 1995. It urges that this relationship is evident from the change in the method of payment from by the block to a daily rate. As a result of this change, Furze Corp. argues that it could not have been Lesniewski's employer.
The purchase of personal labor by the hour, day, or week can be a strong indication of an employer/employee relationship. See Arthur Larson, Workmen's Compensation Law ยง44.33. By paying according to time, an employer will typically want to see that the time is spent efficiently. Ibid. Thus, if a person is paid by the day, an employer might establish what time the employee may arrive, take lunch breaks, and leave. Ibid.
Furze relies upon cases in which payment by time led to the finding of an employer-employee relationship: Bituminous Casualty Corp. v. Wilkes, 49 S.E.2d 916, 918 (Ga. App. 1948) (finding that although claimant used his own tools, hired his own workers, set his own schedule, and was unsupervised, he was an employee, because the employer had the right to control him as derived from an hourly wage by checking up on how time was spent or by terminating his employment at any time); Lawrence v. Industrial Comm'n, 62 N.E.2d 686, 687-90 (Ill. 1945) (finding that claimant, who was hired to repair plaster in set of rooms and who provided his own equipment and supplies, was an employee because he was paid an hourly wage, which is indicative of such a relationship, and he was supervised from room to room and directed as to what to fix); Denman v. Many & Zanetti, 168 N.E.2d 250, 252 (N.Y. 1960) (finding that claimant hired to rototill neighbor's corn field was an employee because he was paid an hourly rate, even though he supplied his own equipment, had
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