- 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 requisitePage: 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