Who is an Employee, Joint Employee, or Independent Contractor?

Labor Day encourages a review of the legal status of labor. Worker status is important because numerous statutes such as minimum wage and overtime requirements apply to employees but not to independent contractors. Being a "joint employee" means that both employers will have legal liability for employment law violations. If one employer is bankrupt, the other employer hopefully has sufficient assets to pay any claims. Five court decisions in August 2014 illustrate how worker status is determined...