Employer-Employee Relations DocumentThe United States government has guidelines that dictate how businesses interact with their employees to ensure that all parties are equally covered with respect to concerns labor rights. When Mary is fired from her job as a programmer at the Little Lamb Company, then not rehired when a job opening opens up, questions arise. In this article, the questions of Mary's status as an independent contractor or employee, the employer/employee relationship changes over time, and legal discharge under the at-will employment doctrine will be addressed and answered. EMPLOYEEMary's status as an independent contractor versus an employee can always be a sticky point due to the nature of the type of work being performed. According to the Supplemental Employer Tax Guide provided by the IRS, "an employer must generally withhold federal income tax, withhold and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, and pay tax on unemployment on wages paid to an employee. An employer is generally not required to withhold or pay taxes on payments made to independent contractors (Department of the Treasury, 2008). » The Employment Law for Business manual defines independent contractor as: "A person who contracts with a principal to perform a task according to his or her own methods, and who is not under the principal's control regarding the physical details of the work (Bennett-Alexander and Hartman, 2007). While these two definitions all sound good, it can be very difficult to determine whether in fact a person in this case, Mary, is an employee. So the IRS came up with a series of questions that separate the two. The IRS 20 Factor Test uses the term control, “behavioral control, financial control, and type of relationship of the parties” to determine employment status (Department of the Treasury, 2008). One of the key elements of the test is the use of contracts for certain work to be carried out. Mary is a great example of this because as a programmer, she is hired under contract to complete a project. At the start of Mary's employment, this is a standard and clear case of independent contractor employment. When the new project is introduced into the equation, the question really starts to get interesting. CHANGE IN THE EMPLOYER RELATIONSHIP When the project is almost complete, a new need arises for Mary's services to continue with the company to complete the new project...