Opinion ID: 596113
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Level of Skill

Text: 29 The district court found that although Aymes's ability as a programmer required skills beyond the capacity of a layman, it required no peculiar expertise or creative genius. We disagree. Aymes's work required far more than merely transcribing Bonelli's instructions. Rather, his programming demanded that he use skills developed while a graduate student at Cornell and through his experience working at a family run company. Other courts that have addressed the level of skill necessary to indicate that a party is an independent contractor have held architects, photographers, graphic artists, drafters, and indeed computer programmers to be highly-skilled independent contractors. See, e.g., MacLean, 952 F.2d at 777 (computer programmer); Marco, 969 F.2d 1547 (photographer); M.G.B. Homes, 903 F.2d at 1492 (drafting service); Johannsen, 797 F.Supp. 835 (artist/printer); Kunycia, 755 F.Supp. at 575 (architect); Kelstall-Whitney, 1990 WL 69013, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6186 (computer programmer). 30 We therefore conclude that the district court erred in relying on Aymes's relative youth and inexperience as a professional computer programmer. Rather, the court should have examined the skill necessary to perform the work. In this case, Aymes was clearly a skilled craftsman. Consequently, this factor weighs heavily in his favor. 31