The employer paid wages to the employee. The employer had the power to dismiss the employee. The employer had the power to control the conduct of the employee. 1 Of these, the power to control conduct was recognized as the most important. But whether or not someone is an employee depends not only on the exact nature of the relationship but also on the context or reason for the question.
Many nurse anesthetists work in varying degrees of collaboration with surgeons and other physicians.
They share, as will be seen, many of the characteristics of the CRNA's relationship with the psychiatrist in Salih v Lane . As was true in Salih v Lane , rarely will the relationship between nurse anesthetist and surgeon embody the four elements listed above. Under the Internal Revenue Code, a number of taxes become payable if someone is an employee. For example, employers are required to collect withholding taxes on wages but not on amounts paid to independent contractors. Because the question has such ramifications, the IRS has published a number of comprehensive rulings detailing factors which are helpful in applying this definition.