Opinion ID: 853431
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Belief of the Parties in the Existence of an Employer-Employee Relationship

Text: Here, both parties agree, Neither Magness nor GKN believed at the time of the project that there was an employer-employee relationship between them. Brief of Appellant at 8; Brief of Appellee at 16. Nonetheless, GKN directs our attention to case authority standing for the proposition that the absence of such a belief is common in dual employment situations. See, e.g., U.S. Metalsource, 649 N.E.2d at 686; Beach v. Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., 542 F.Supp. 1328, 1330 (N.D.Ind.1982), aff'd, 728 F.2d 407 (7th Cir.1984). In both cases the courts found the existence of an employment relationship where only the employee did not believe he was an employee of both businesses. U.S. Metalsource, 649 N.E.2d at 686; Beach, 542 F.Supp. at 1331. Here, by contrast, neither party believed an employer-employee relationship existed. Accordingly, this factor weighs against a conclusion that GKN employed Magness.