Millsap v. Federal Express Corp

In Millsap v. Federal Express Corp. (1991) 227 Cal.App.3d 425, an express company (NCE) paid Pence to deliver packages to NCE's customers. Pence used his own vehicle to deliver the packages, paid for gas/oil and car repairs, and furnished his own liability insurance. Pence was paid on a "per route" basis, received no employee benefits, and no taxes were withheld from his paycheck. (Id., at p. 431.) "Other than to say 'be careful' or to give him directions to a particular location, or possibly to tell him to deliver the packages in the order received, NCE did not instruct Pence as to how to make the deliveries or how to drive his car." (Id., at p. 431.) The Court of Appeal affirmed the summary judgment in favor of NCE on the ground that Pence was an independent contractor and compensated on a piecemeal basis. (Id., at p. 433.) There were no material triable facts that NCE exercised the requisite control over Pence's work to make him its employee. "'The most significant factor in determining the existence of an employer-independent contractor relationship is the right to control the manner and means by which the work is to be performed. "If control may be exercised only as to the result of the work and not the means by which it is accomplished, an independent contractor relationship is established." ' " (Id., at p. 431.)