Philip T. and Mary Ellen Chaplin - Page 15

                                       - 15 -                                         
          stated:                                                                     
               The methods by which * * * [professionals] work are                    
               prescribed by the techniques and standards of their                    
               professions.  No layman should dictate to a lawyer how                 
               to try a case or to a doctor how to diagnose a disease.                
               Therefore, the control of an employer over the manner                  
               in which professional employees shall conduct the                      
               duties of their positions must necessarily be more                     
               tenuous and general than the control over                              
               nonprofessional employees.  Yet, despite this absence                  
               of direct control over the manner in which * * *                       
               [professionals] shall conduct their professional                       
               activities, it cannot be doubted that many * * *                       
               [professionals] are employees.                                         
               Petitioners argue RHB did not have the right to control the            
          means and manner by which petitioner exercised his fiduciary                
          responsibilities.  Petitioners assert that petitioner was                   
          required by law to exercise his own independent judgment when               
          exercising his fiduciary duties and was subject only to the                 
          requirements of law and the terms of the individual trust                   
          documents.                                                                  
               It is inherent in the nature of many professions, including            
          petitioner’s, that professional employees engaged in such                   
          professions are subject to various requirements of law,                     
          requirements of independent regulatory bodies, and other                    
          fiduciary responsibilities which are beyond the control of their            
          employer.  Because a lower standard applies to professionals, the           
          fact petitioner was required by law to exercise independent                 
          judgment does not preclude RHB from exercising the requisite                







Page:  Previous  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011