A contract logger fells trees and occasionally hauls them to a destination. Contract workers are usually independent contractors.

Contract loggers are employees when:

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  their employer pays their business expenses with the understanding that employer has the authority to supervise the crew and plan the use of the equipment;

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  their employer requires that they work for no one else;

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  they can terminate the business relationship on short notice;

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  they carry out and supervise the employer’s plans;

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  they follow instructions about where to cut at a particular time, what trees to cut and haul first, the number of hours to work, etc.; and

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  they perform the services personally.

Contract loggers are independent contractors when:

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  they accomplish the purpose of their contract by their own methods or by subcontracting parts of the work;

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  they are free to contract with others;

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  they are not committed to one particular job;

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  they have contracts to perform some or all of the harvesting operations (e.g., cut the trees down, peel off the bark, saw them into logs of desired lengths, haul them to specified locations, and pile them at landings, yards or storage points);

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  they hire, pay, and direct their own crews;

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  they own their own tools and equipment; and

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  their success or failure in business depends on these characteristics.

The principal factors that show control are:

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  the contract logger must perform the services personally, and on a full-time basis;

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  the company must approve the worker to hire and fire assistants;

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  the contract logger does not incur any business expenses and does not have the opportunity for profit or risk of loss;

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  the contract logger does not receive his or her pay on a lump sum basis;

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  the contract logger may end the relationship at any time; and

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  the contract logger cannot work for others.