{4:54 minutes to read} In past articles, I have discussed the increasing trend in the courts and government agencies in which the majority of the determinations held that workers classified as independent contractors were, in fact, employees and therefore entitled to minimum wage and all other statutory protections afforded workers.
{3:06 minutes to read} In recent years, there have been court challenges to the real estate independent contractor relationship, and to date, the real estate industry has prevailed. In Part 1 of this series, we discussed how state statutes mandate that real estate brokers exercise reasonable supervision over the activities of their salespersons, even though those agents are considered “independent contractors.” Below are two recent court challenges to the existing status quo assumption that real agent agents are independent contractors.
{3:06 minutes to read} Real estate agents have generally been classified as independent contractors by brokers, but agents, unlike independent contractors in other industries, are subject to supervision by the brokers. This level of supervision is mandated by state statutes that require brokers to exercise reasonable supervision over the activities of his or her salespersons. The statutes also require the establishment of policies, rules, procedures and systems to review, oversee, inspect and manage such areas as document management and retention, the handling of trust funds, and reports of salesperson activity.