Opinion ID: 523636
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Skill.

Text: 114 With regard to the factor concerning the skill of the decorators the district court held that [a]lthough not every decorator is highly skilled when starting, through native ability, time, and experience, decorators acquire and develop the necessary skills to design and decorate cakes according to the customer's wishes. R. Vol. I, Tab 2 at 8. Although this finding is certainly not clearly erroneous it is nonetheless irrelevant in determining whether the cake decorators are employees or independent contractors. As the court noted in Sec'y of Labor v. Lauritzen, 835 F.2d at 1537: [T]his development of occupational skills is no different from what any good employee in any line of work must do. 115 The lack of the requirement of specialized skills is indicative of employee status. Doty v. Elias, 733 F.2d at 723. Novak's testimony makes it clear that the Snells do not require the decorators to have any specialized skills or prior experience when they start to work for the Snells. R. Vol. II at 6. They merely develop their skills on the job. Id. at 30. 116 The district court found that the majority of the decorators have at the very least taken a course in cake decorating. R. Vol. I, Tab 2 at 2. Because Novak, whose testimony was stipulated by the parties to be representative of the group of decorators, testified that she had no experience in cake decorating when she started and that only some of the decorators had taken a class, this finding is clearly erroneous. 117