Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
-2- <br />Attachment 2 lists some of the IRS guidelines for determining an employee versus <br />an independent contractor relationship. Please note this is fairly complex area of <br />law, regulation and court decisions. Among other things, there is no one factor that <br />is controlling. <br />The IRS regulations require that the employer withhold income taxes, withhold and <br />pay social security and Medicare taxes and provide unemployment compensation <br />for an employee. This is not required for an independent contractor. <br />• The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and regulations also prescribe when <br />an employment relationship exists. It uses similar criteria as those of the IRS. The <br />County is covered by FLSA. <br />• Beyond the above law and regulations, there a number of landlord/tenant laws that <br />prescribe the relationship between a landlord and a tenant. Please note that a <br />tenant is not a contractor. Of importance in considering options for a resident <br />caretaker are laws related to eviction that generally favor the tenant. <br />3. Examples of Caretaker Arrangements <br />We have identified two examples of current resident caretaker arrangements in the <br />area: <br />• OWASA - Employs a Lake Warden and two Senior Assistant Lake Wardens as <br />resident caretakers. All three are permanent employees who are paid for hours <br />worked and receive benefits. They are required to live in residences at University <br />Lake and Cane Creek as part of their employment and they pay rent at a reduced <br />rate. <br />Wake County - Employs a Parks Manager located at Falls Lake. The Parks <br />Manager is a regular permanent employee who receives benefits. The employee <br />works a 40-hour schedule including one rotating weekend and serves on call. The <br />employee lives in the house rent-free but is required to pay utility costs. <br />4. Available Options <br />After consideration of all of the above, I see the following possible options for providing <br />a resident caretaker. <br />Option A - Resident Caretaker As County Employee <br />With this option, the caretaker would be a County employee under an arrangement <br />similar to that provided by OWASA. During the recruitment process, the County would <br />specify that the employee live in the residence as a condition of employment and also <br />specify that residency ends when employment ends. <br />Since the employee would be non-exempt under FLSA, the employment agreement <br />would include what is called a "Reasonable Agreement" for FLSA purposes that would <br />spell out the work duties and work schedule. Through this the County would protect