Friday the 13th lawsuit scares up lessons on employees vs. independent contractors

Millions of people have seen the horror film classic Friday the 13th or the many sequels it spawned. In a surprise twist, a recent lawsuit involving the production of the movie script underscores the importance of considering whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

Employment dispute straight out of the movies

Professional screenwriter Victor Miller wrote the screenplay for what became Friday the 13th. The production company he wrote the script for then sold it and the film rights to a second firm, which made the movie. And the rest is history—at least until he filed a lawsuit seeking to reclaim ownership of the screenplay.

Whether Miller could reclaim ownership turned on whether he had been an employee or an independent contractor of the production company that later assigned the movie rights to the film company. Under copyright law, he could reclaim ownership if he had been a contractor but not if he was an employee.

13-factor test comes into play

Whether a worker such as Miller is an employee or an independent contractor is generally determined by applying a 13-factor test. Not all of the factors are relevant in any given case, and some factors are more important than others. Here they are:

Control. To what extent does the hiring party control the manner and means by which the work is accomplished? The more control, the more likely the worker is an employee.