General Overview of Agency Law:

Readings & Videos:  Intro to Agency Law, the first video/reading on Agency Law in Jason Gordon’s Business Professor textbook.

Reading: Relationship Between Principals and Agents   (Chapter 38 in Warner, etal, Business Law and the Legal Environment).  In Part 38.1, you’ll find an explanation of Agency law, including the distinction between express, implied, and apparent authority.  Part 38.2 identifies and explains the duties agents owe to principals and the duties principals owe to agents.

Reading: Agency   This brief explanation of agency in the Free Dictionary by Farlex provides an overview of Agency Law.

Video (7:22):  The Principal-Agent Relationship.  This video by Law Shelf covers the formation of an agency relationship, types of authority, duties of principals and agents, principal’s liability for an agent’s contracts and torts, and the compensation of agents.

Reading/Video:  Principal-Agent Relationship:  What it is and How it Works.  This  brief explanation by Investopedia may help you understand the relationship between principals and agents. 

Reading: Agency Law   This brief article defines key terms in the Principal-Agency relationship, how these relationships are created, and types and duties of agents.

Creating and Terminating an Agency Relationship

Video:  What is an Agency Relationship? (1:11) by Prof Jason Gordon

Reading: Creating an Express or Implied Agency; Dissolution of an Agency Relationship

Video:  Types of Principals in an Agency Relationship (1:36) by Prof Jason Gordon

” PowToon Video: Formation of Agency Relationship (1:33)

Reading: Liability of Principal and Agent; Termination of the Agency Chapter 39, in Warner, etal, Business Law and the Legal Environment

Types of Agency Authority

Video:  Agency Law and Types of Authority (8:27)  The focus is on the agent’s authority to enter into contracts on behalf of the principal.

Reading:  Express, Implied, and Apparent Authority of Agents.  Cornell’s Legal Information Institute defines these three types of agency authority.

Reading:  Principal’s Contract Liability.  In this section of the Warner, etal Business Law textbook (above), the authors explain that for a principal to have contractual liability to a third party, the agent must have had the authority to enter into contracts on the principal’s behalf. 

Video:  Contracts:  Agency (8:27).  This short video discusses when agents are authorized to form contracts for principals.

Video:  Agent Authority and Contract Liability (4:14) by Prof Jason Gordon

Video:   Agent Liability to Third Parties (3:28) by Prof Jason Gordon

Duties of Principal and Agent

Reading:  Rights, Duties, and Liabilities Between Principals and Agents.  A short summary of rights and duties of principals and agents.  It also discusses when an agent may be liable to the principal for acting without the actual authority of the principal.

  Video:  Agency and Duties (2:34) by Prof Jason Gordon

Liability for Torts 

Reading:   Employer’s Liability for an Employee’s Acts.  This Findlaw post (update in August 2023) explains the doctrine of respondeat superior, provides an example of “frolic and detour,” and discusses negligent hiring and retention.

Video:   Business Liability for Torts of Agent (3:18) by Prof Jason Gordon

Reading: Using Vicarious Liability to Defeat Employer Negligence Claims.  This June 2020 blog post by an Orlando law firm explores the interplay between an employer’s vicarious liability for injuries caused acting within the scope of employment with claims asserting employer negligence in the hiring or supervision an employee caused the plaintiff’s harm.  As the blog points out, if the employer admits the employee was within the scope of employment, a negligent hiring or supervision claim is no longer appropriate under Florida law.

Reading: Respondeat Superior and Negligent Hiring: Exposed if Within, Exposed if Without.  This 2013 by a consulting firm specializing in enterprise risk management also looks at vicarious liability and negligence theories for holding an employer liable for injuries caused by an employee, and devotes a small section to frolic and detour rules.

Reading: Negligent Hiring and the Importance of Doing Your Due Diligence (2017).  In this brief article, the author defines a negligent hiring claim, provides an example and explains what employers should do to avoid such claims

Video:  When Are Employers Liable for Accidents Caused by Employees? (2:38).  In this video, an attorney discusses when an employer might be liable for accidents caused by an employee on their way to or from work.  The full text of the video is visible beneath the video if you want to quickly scan it before you decide to watch it.

Reading:   Employer Liable if Employee is Involved in an Injury Accident?  This post by a law firm explores vicarious liability and scope of employment as it looks at employer liability when an employee is in an accident.

Reading:  Amazon Sued Over Crashes by Drivers Rushing to Make Deliveries.  In this November 2021 story in Bloomberg News, Amazon claims that it isn’t liable for injuries, because the driver was an independent contractor, even though he relied on Amazon’s algorithms and subject to considerable control by the company.  There is no reported settlement or trial information since the lawsuit was filed in Cobb County Georgia in 2021.  At the time the suit was filed, the plaintiff had already incurred more than $2 million in medical bills.  For those who are interested, here’s a link to the complaint filed by the plaintiff.

Reading: On The Border Found Liable for Worker’s Hit-Run DUI   (though he was off-the-clock and out of uniform while celebrating his birthday with co-workers)

Reading:  You Could Face Tort Liability for Your Independent Contractors. This reading explains when employers can be liable for the torts committed by independent contracts they have hired, starting with the general rule of non-liability and then looking at the primary exceptions to the rule.

Reading: Who is liable when a bar bouncer injures a customer?

Employees or Independent Contractors?

Reading:  Department of Labor Announces Final Rule on Classifying Workers as Employees or Independent Contractors (January 2024).  As stated in the DOL news release, this “new” rule actually restores the “multifactor analysis used by courts for decades.”  The new rule took effect on March 11, 2024.

Reading:  Contract Workers vs. Employees: What Your Business Needs to Know.  This webpage (posted on October 24, 2023, by BusinessNewsDaily.com, explores the key differences between employees and independent contractors in terms of how they are paid and taxed, and whether they receive benefits, as well as control v. autonomy.  It also includes the IRS criteria for distinguishing employees from independent contractors, and the consequences of misclassifying workers.

Reading:  Employee vs. Independent Contractor: Differences You Need to Know.   In this short article updated in September 2023, Legal Zoom explains the key factors used to determine worker status, including the “economic realities” test and the “right to control” test, as well as the tax implications of the classification.

Reading:  Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee?  This IRS page explains the difference and the consequences of misclassification.  (updated in April 2023).

Reading:  Independent Contractor v. Employee:  10 Differences.  This blog post (updated in October 2023) identifies key differences between employees and independent contractors in a short and readable post.

Reading:  Difference Between Employee and Independent Contractor.  Discusses IRS criteria for determining worker status.  (updated Feb 2021).

Uber and Lyft Drivers:  Independent Contractors or Employees?  (a sampling of recent news)

Reading:  Lessons From the Uber Case: “Employees” vs. “Independent Contractors  This May 2023 article discusses Uber’s settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by drivers in California and Massachusetts over the classification of drivers.  Under the terms of the settlement, Uber agreed to pay up to $100 million.   It also examines 6 factors that can be used to determine how to properly classify Uber drivers.

Reading:  Are Uber and Lyft Drivers Considered Independent Contractors or Employees?  This law firm blog (updated in September 2023) indicates that Nevada still regards these drivers as independent contractors (as do most other states at the present time, as well as the NLRB), but predicts that it will not be long before they are recognized as employees.   

Reading and Audio (Oct 2020):  Uber And Lyft Must Make Drivers Employees, California Court Rules.  A California Appellate Court ruled that Uber and Lyft drivers are employees, not independent contractors, under California law and thus entitled to employer-sponsored health insurance, overtime, and paid sick leave.  This link also explains why Uber and Lyft claim the law does not apply to them and why they support California Proposition 22, a California ballot initiative to let the voters decide the status of gig workers in the state.

Reading (Jan 2021):  New York Court: Uber Drivers Are Employees Eligible for Unemployment Insurance.   A ruling by the NY Sup. Ct. Appellate Division classified Uber drivers as employees eligible for unemployment compensation.  This decision follows a March 2020 ruling by the NY Court of Appeals classifying PostMates drivers as employees.  [In Jan 2020, NY planned to create a task force to study how gig workers should be classified, but those efforts were derailed by the pandemic.]

Reading:  Hit the Road, Jack: Uber Drivers are Independent Contractors According to NLRB  This June 2019 article in the National Law Review explains the NLRB’s “advice memo” on the status of Uber and Lyft drivers.  Nolo further explains the memo and how it effectively prevents Uber drivers from unionizing in Uber Drivers are Contractors Not Employees According to the NLRB.