Independent Contractor or Employee: The Exotic Dancer Cases

Author
Paul J. Brennan Minnesota State University, Mankato Todd S. Lundquist, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Region
North America
Topic
Accounting & Finance
Length
14 pages
Keywords
Employee
independent contractor
Taxation
Student Price
$4.00
Target Audience
Undergraduate Students

This descriptive case was designed for use in an undergraduate taxation or business law class. The case provided an exercise for students to decide whether workers should be classified as employees or independent contractors using alternative Internal Revenue Service and common law criteria. The facts were taken from actual litigation between an exotic dancing establishment and its previously employed dancers. The case provided a narrative description of evidence, summarization of the working contracts between the club and its performers, and separate appendices describing the Internal Revenue Service and common law authorities controlling the resolution of the issue. The applied case was designed to help students recognize the effects of the independent contractor/employee classification upon stakeholders, recognize the significant factors controlling the classification decision, and to evaluate evidence and legal criteria in order to make an informed and defensible judgment.

Learning Outcomes
  1. Comprehend the distinctions between the independent contractor and employment classifications and the factors used to distinguish between the two statuses;
  2. Apply designated legal criteria to a changing set of circumstances;
  3. Analyze evidence and legal criteria in order to make an informed classification of the workers as employees or independent contractors and to support reasons for the decision.