Philip T. and Mary Ellen Chaplin - Page 21

                                       - 21 -                                         
          RHB’s profit-sharing plan.  However, such an arrangement may also           
          be found in employer-employee relationships and does not by                 
          itself weigh in favor of petitioners’ position.                             
               There is no indication in the record that petitioner would             
          incur any loss if RHB ceased to be profitable.  However,                    
          petitioner could be held personally liable if he breached his               
          fiduciary duties to his clients.  In this limited sense,                    
          petitioner did bear some risk of loss.                                      
               This factor tends to support a finding that petitioner was             
          an employee of RHB, but its significance is mitigated by                    
          petitioner’s participation in RHB’s profit-sharing plan and his             
          potential personal liability.                                               
               6.   The Permanency of the Relationship and the Right To               
                    Discharge                                                         
               The permanency of a relationship indicates an employer-                
          employee relationship, while a transitory relationship does not.            
          Levine v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2005-86; Hathaway v.                     
          Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-389.  Additionally, the right to              
          discharge a worker and the worker’s right to quit at any time               
          indicate an employer-employee relationship.  Levine v.                      
          Commissioner, supra.  Under the employment agreement, the                   
          relationship between petitioner and RHB was indefinite, subject             
          to the termination provision.  Under the termination provision,             
          RHB had the right to discharge petitioner with 60 days’ notice              
          without cause or immediately with cause.  Petitioner had the                





Page:  Previous  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011