COM. DEPT. OF L. I. v. GREAT LAKES TV

Unemployment Compensation — Employe or independent contractor — Talent artists — Television broadcasting company — Unemployment Compensation Law.

In this case, in which it appeared that the Bureau of Employment Security made an assessment against defendant, engaged in the business of television broadcasting, for failure to include in its periodic reports "wages" paid to individuals as "talent fees"; that there was no formal contract signed between the defendant and the employe in question (and other persons whose relation to defendant was similar), but there was an agreement for an amount of pay, the time involved, and the type of job to be performed; that the payments to the claimants were made without deductions of any kind and were made by checks drawn on the general account of defendant rather than on the payroll account; that the union contract excluded talent artists from the definition of employes; that the work performed by claimant was at defendant's studio, at a time set by defendant and its clients; that the equipment of the station was used, and the props for claimant's program were furnished by defendant station; that direction to the talent artist was given by defendant, and if there was a script for the program it was furnished by defendant television company or the sponsor; and that the court below, finding that control of the services of the talent artists existed in the television company as an ultimate fact, and that neither the methods of payment for the services nor the fact that no deductions of any sort were made was determinative of the question whether the talent artists were employes or independent contractors, concluded that the remunerations received by the talent artists were "wages" within the meaning of the Unemployment Compensation Law and sustained the assessment; it was Held that the order of the court below should be affirmed.

Argued June 13, 1968.