Cite as: 538 U. S. 440 (2003)
Opinion of the Court
§§ 605:0008-605:00010 (2000) (hereinafter EEOC Compliance Manual).7 With respect to the broad question, the guidelines list 16 factors—taken from Darden, 503 U. S., at 323- 324—that may be relevant to "whether the employer controls the means and manner of the worker's work performance." EEOC Compliance Manual § 605:0008, and n. 71.8 The guidelines list six factors to be considered in answering the narrower question, which they frame as "whether the individual acts independently and participates in managing the organization, or whether the individual is subject to the organization's control." Id., § 605:0009.
We are persuaded by the EEOC's focus on the common-law touchstone of control, see Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U. S. 134, 140 (1944),9 and specifically by its submission that each of the following six factors is relevant to the inquiry whether a shareholder-director is an employee:
"Whether the organization can hire or fire the individual or set the rules and regulations of the individual's work
7 The EEOC's manual states that it applies across the board to other federal antidiscrimination statutes. See EEOC Compliance Manual § 605:0001 ("This Section discusses coverage, timeliness, and other threshold issues to be considered when a charge is first filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), or the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)" (footnote omitted)).
8 For example, the EEOC considers whether the work requires a high level of skill or expertise, whether the employer furnishes the tools, materials, and equipment, and whether the employer has the right to control when, where, and how the worker performs the job. Id., § 605:0008.
9 As the Government has acknowledged, see Tr. of Oral Arg. 19, the EEOC's Compliance Manual is not controlling—even though it may constitute a "body of experience and informed judgment" to which we may resort for guidance. Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U. S., at 140; see also Christensen v. Harris County, 529 U. S. 576, 587 (2000) (holding that agency interpretations contained in "policy statements, agency manuals, and enforcement guidelines, all of which lack the force of law[,] do not warrant Chevron-style deference").
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