Basic (12-03)
An individual who performs services for a State or local government is an employee
if the individual is an employee under the common law rules. The common law rule for
determining whether a worker is an employee is whether the government entity has the
right to direct and control the worker as to the manner and means of the worker’s
job performance. In other words, the entity has the right to tell the worker not only
what shall be done but how it shall be done.
If an individual is subject to the control or direction of another merely as to the
result to be accomplished and not as to the means and methods for accomplishing the
result, the individual is an independent contractor. The difference between an employee
and an independent contractor lies in the degree of control.