Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

A.. ,P OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAE AUSTlN ., a@-=- -., i. + ;' --- c !i,,j! Eonomble C. E. Miller,QoPollorloner 'Peas UnemploymentComp8nratlonCoxnlasio Austin,T8xae mnhation of ihe aommiity inrrofar imint ooasiw& or 0 hcm8 offsoe the distristnmagei are ~auperihteadsnte, rour ok Plm in nvciber.Wk'eaah anger- intendsntis a group of Ladustrialag6ntsaop- sieting of roux or five men, The mtmqger ia responsiblerot the whole aietmt. mm mlper inten&di is respuneiblefop a Mvlsfcrnof the HonorableC. R. Miller,Pa&a 13 dlotrlot . The ageat ia responolblefor a oubdiri~loa of the euperlntrndent’r -.a. *$aohageat is f'uraiahed with a debit book whioh oontaln6the a8506 ana aaaresreo of all poliop holaerawithin his aeblt or axea of operatdm~. ae well a8 the polloy numbersof all of the pollolssthe prduma on whiah he is 0bargea with the duty of ool- leothg. The debit book is &man& in mmh a wuy uo to sot forth the aetaal route over whloh the agent Dravelain the eolleotlon or ihe px+utt~. "On Xonduy,Tuaedayand t?Mawdny af eaoh week, the ageat -8 oolluotlon& ZIe odlr upon t&o polloyholder lndloatsab the ilrst p&go ot his debit book) jðea OaL upon the peraoaladleateaby the aemad go, uad 60 on& Ha tramls over hla route bLaay maaaa availableto E%&,- 1eots.t weekly pranlumr: dae. The ia88 that ha la 80 engagedon thwo duyo does not mama that he lr not llkewlsoohargednlth tha duty or 8aUi.aalaouranoe,ba8h Aadu8trhl ema 0- lasuraaos,aathe~daysaade*rry 08her day. 0aThWJde.Y BrfddlJrand BatWlUY the *gmt devote8 his &a #mra&ly 00 the 0d0 0t insurao~e or bath tppee. ot3 ~atiuday, however,at least the t%rfit halr oi the day is devotedto offioawork. This Sa8ucdag@f- floe work ooasieteof.ths,ageatl*s ssttfagap of his new bu&nea8, putMa& euah sew buaiaero on rolto oheetrla.hlsfolio aaa sora~ igf of the register his la 866 s#bHw. Thuee latter sheetaare eheets~ Iith nferelaoato bueiaeesw&oh is dead beeaueeof the poXlay holdat*sfailureto pay pa?embus. Liktise on Saturdaymeming pAloh are plum4 la ulveLq+esalong with reoslptbooks, aad toUoe are btim06a to arrive at the amoua8 of the debit or the agent ror the week bs.@uhe the followlagltoaday morala& The amtuat.orthe agent'8debit lrrarrivedat by aubtruofiag his lapsedbuelaesofrom his new busina~& HOaOZ?ablO CL R. X%ller,.?88e5 "Jkohmorning,exo8ptXoaday'mrPing, the agsnf 1s relulredto be preaent&t a meetlagheld at 7r45 a.m. At euoh meeting the agent take8 hls plooe nt hle a681~0a de&c In the con&mayofrloloc,to be aiblres6ed by the alatrlatmanagerand two other ladl- rldualeaonmoted with tha oampaayselected by the maaagerror the purpose. At theso aeotiqe a roll call ie rlrst had. F.ch ageat responds to hls nama with, that a statmeat of tba mount or ladustrlalia- eurauae writtenon ths pm~~o.0~~ day (in term of the amountof weeklyprmlune)~ eeooad, the amountof ordinaryla6uranoewrltteaon the prwleue dayi third,oo&laotloa600.la-- duetrbl pollalesfor tha revieu~~ day; an$, roourth,a0u00ti0nr 0110rdL- ior the previousday. Ih additionto t%im statmeate, the agent la required to annouam snddoeetumounoehispledge of aoocng+llohma$ footha daydor~whiohhrir aa~Ml& Thw, he anaouneeeoa Tuordayo and we&edaye the emalatof ool.laatloMbB er- peota to make on thoee daya, 80 well a8 the' a5CUntOf iWWeaOar he.slgeotS to write, On Thursdaya,Aldiiysand Satur&Qa,ha amiourieeu mar&y hix pledgepuota or mrgsoiwd buslaesr In the matter of wLJ.S.nalnsumno0, lx!mirrc enco baingpada to oolleotloas, becauseool- leotlonduty aover only the first three deya as the week. If an agent is late la arrlring a&e~w~:t~ he ie held up to ridiaule by . If it Is n~oe~aerpfor him tie3 be abeaatfrcnnruoh meotlnghe oommaloatm that feotito the maaager by telepjiomcm other Jm6nE* Upon the aajournraeatof this llbw?&~ burla&whloh the managerkm8 n&de urgentre- quaat that the eupsrlntendentaand agents got bueineas,eaoh rruper5ntsndelrt ordLnaril,y gatherawith 6 group of agmats la a rmtaurent for ooffelso.Atthietima bueiacloa Lergcb. afsouaaedana each agent la tola by the m&per- ln%endentthe elaot tima aaa the mot place HonorableC. R. Mlliller, Pago 4 at.whlohhe, the e~rintendULt, riu reti the agent on the agent'8route that day. The agent then goes to his delineatedarea t0 p8d0?3 hi24motions, hi8 route =r=gea for hIa by the arrangementof the pa@8 in Me debit book. Thoee pages latlioate to him the next addressat whioh to ofii Th@ debit book ocntaIns80 many paean that aelleotiona 6r8 0~ mr 00Tema 01). the tir8t atcf,LEono day, the remaining~ortlonebelt@ oovorod 00. TWSdaJ. The manager as well a8 the super- lntandantand agent,1s psrfeotlyramiitttr wsth the debit area Inbloatedby saoh debit book. "me agent maea hi8 e&l otion an8 08eQ~ the f3uperint~a0ntattha~po%tedtfme aad p&as, ct w&ioh tW he adv see with the eu ar- intenaentaeto ark parti~.oullr pmblepla ofi ooafroatsU In come inatanovsthe eupar- inteaaentoffer8and giroa aeilotenoeIn then matter or tranepor0lag the agaut to SOW ad- dress at whloh the agent hae prevloueljoalled la hle morningrouad8 but iallmd to ooll~ot~ At tinee polioyvholdere 91ovadtram the'.deblt area of one asent do the debit area of .azMthr)r. In suoh lnetanc~~s the auperintend6nt may teke tha agentrithh&ta the& on mohrsrnrrrrl and the new looatieri Or th4 pQllOy holdOr* The agent than oolleotothat weok's prendum, ibe polioylater being transferredto the debit of tha agent in whorwrterritory the polioyh0iaer has nmfly looatea. "kfterlaavfiy the ~crrintendentthe agent thea gooe on with his oolleotionls. This oolleotlonduty ordinarilyra;iuireer that the agent work until approximately 100 pa eaoh night. This Is due to the fao0 that an agent,to retain his oonnection with the Bpletproduos95% ool.l~ot~ons, &S&u8a $%f'"3::a laorease la his buelwse. The a- emat of r-quuirea inoreoaola bueineesIs eat by the ooaqmny,wually $1.00 pm week of premlumeoollaotible,The oae aontsotwith ths supedit~~~aent mentioned a008 not mean e. HonorableC. IL Miller,Pam % that tba agentwill not be OOO~~O~O~ a& duringthe day. The euparintandont ir fa- miliarwith eaah agent*sdebit to the pofnt Or h0~1ng aQprOdmste4 where thb agad 2.S xorklncat any particulartime. Very ofte~~ the superlntentlent the a ent ags%n aontaoti3 ytu, that he is s.otually porfoxyming h&l . wn Wednetdayamrnlngof oaoh weak bhr flnal oolleotiondutlsoem done, thatla, all oollsotions not mad0 on Mm&ay or Tua- day ore attempted86 be made an wdaeedey tWl%ing. Cm Wednellday afternoonthe pgcmt ~0rvt?rzthe 00pip~ 0rf208 0h00w gp hi8 At that time ha turn8 in the mr~~p &oh he ha0 00m0tiea du.mg that tiollu.This aooouatis babno~d agaInattkw 6 Thus, if an agent 6d.b a.palioythe premium for w@ioh lr 25# pcrrweek, he ie oreditedon the books of the oonpanpwith twentytlaee 23#*, wtnrfm, when he oollsotr the 8%~ per week he I#, on eaoh ooo+*ion oredltedwith twenty pesoont, oi 2Wi T&i. P HonorableC. R. Eiller,Page 6 apparentasset on the a&sntrsreoord. ulth the oompanyi8 offsetbJ a o!mrge-baokto the a&ant of twenty times his lapsedbueineas. THUS, if e .?3#grdu iS due on a pOliOy which lagaas,that la, ia not oolleotodulth- in thirty'daysOf the due date of the weekly prtmlum,the agtmt*aroaordwith the oompauy rerlttota a ohar60to him or twenty timesi 2Sg. Thea0 a-8 are inzportantin. 43rrivl.q at the agantt6wagee whloh, ror any prirtloular week, are aotuallyfigurqdon Wedneedeyu. The statementabate is pimllrledby the fur- . ther 6tatementthat the a2bnt ie not aotual- 6 the mll amount or twentytlnms his %b f"it xaeitead, he i6 aid a stipulatedpert oentGe thawof, probabBy lS$. Tha Woe isheldbythe 0-y to his oredit. *Ea)Caoh week the agent is oh&reedwith an ampunt uuudly two or thrm dollars,whioh ia hd.4 out 0r his tmgee and is pbmd in what ie termedtho a@nt*s bond aooount. Ho actualbond ia issued,but the oompauybuilds up a bond aoaountin order to take oar8 of arrd to ofrsetany ebmt~e on the part at the agent. "It oa%bs seen that :itis possiblefor an agent to be entitLedto no aash mbney on pay day,whloh falls on&turday. Anagentlnthat rltuatlonwho need0 mnsy on any pfirtioulm ey day my and ortan does make arranmnenta VI & the n8nagerror an advanos. Bfs wage slip thererorerefleots that hla total mmtaneratlon for tha ~8ak’ie paid under axiitem aenoabnatta *speolaltialarg.'His 'speolalsalarymay be and~umaallyia paid ev6n thoughhitaaaoount with the oonpanyshows that he is aotually*in the red.' This epoaialsalaryie en ordinary item or wages in that it is pata eaoh weelq howeveq the amount of suoh epsoialsalary varicefrom fire to tw8My dollars, aeoord- lng to the aohlevem3ntaof the agmit dW%ng the week. xr ths agamt hm ~OJM#Xl .he may be. pata twentydollars 8 aoial saXmy: whmeas, poor aooonpliabaent wsXlmerit hln a&Ly five -.. Eenorable0. R. Miller,Pa6e 9 dollarsspeaielselary. Xn other oasesthe agentwill be oreditedwith a epeolalealary over and above the w-t which his a~~omplleh- mnt would ordinarilypermit. This lnorease In the partioularagent'srrpeoial salam ue- t&ally resultsIn a deoreaeeoi'the speoial. salaryOr some other indiv&dualor individuals. Thfs Is due to the fact that there Is usually availableto the dir&riot&uimgeronly a oerteln amountor martoy whioh oan be used for spoolal salerypaynmnte.* Based upon the above iaots, you ask the Sallowing questionswhich we quote from your lotterae lollowsr ",41-o the lnduetrfallnsuranoeagents treatedin the etatedient of raats attaahed heretoln the amp10 at of the lit0 lneuranoe coprpanyunder h-iii00 gaamm(6), 3"" v. R. C. 8. 1925, In its presentfoocmand/w as it axlsted prior to anmndnumtotfeotlvoApril 1, 1959?a Be will first UlaoUae the questlonof whetheror not the iadustrialinsursnoaagent8were in the employ0ent of the iire fasurauoeoozumnywithlu the meaningor the un- OtEplOgrJsnt Compensation AOt, prior fnfrfi, to It8 eirwubmt orreotive April 1, 1939. we do not think It .neoaaeary to dluouuso the generalprovisionsof the Aat relatingto ea- ploynient insofaras this quoatian is oonaemed beoauseprior tics April 1, 1939, the Aat oontainada speoltlopmnlalon whioh,we bollsvs oontrolst&la queetion. This prov~e~iox!, subseotion(g) (of 0r motion l9 0r the mxfia Unemploynent Compensation Aot, sanrebeing Act8 1986, 44 Leg., Srd C. s., oh. 432, pb 1993,wax aa Mllowsr "(9) In detotining employeeounder this tw OAb in aatemlning employercsunder thisAct, and in determinln@wages under this Aat, neitherterm 8hfcu Ineludeem- ploywit 0r or setiae by agante or in- arand oompanie6 who oolleot their oom- peneatian on a aondasian be&s.* (I?apaaleU April 1, 1939). Therewould neem to be no doubt but what the in- dustrialinsuranaeagent in questionwas an agentxithin HonorableC. R. 1EIller, Page 0 the meaningof the above quoted eeotionof the Aat. This beb true, the question6dsea as to whether the remunemtlon rmeived by the &sent I5 in the forinof a coIla.ealon. It can readilybe aeon that an agenttight not be entitledto any aompensatlon on pay day due to the oosmiu- alon plau or paymsntwhich the iasuranoeoarqpsny has in force. To meet this situation,the oompanyhas a plan where- by the a&m‘6 map obtain an advanoa. This I6 more fully et plainedIn the racts hcreincbovementioned. If this advance IS chargedagainstthe oomn~I~~$on~ earnedby the agent,then It oannotbe ssid that hs receivesany oompsnsatlon other beds. than on a oommi~sslon / Under these facts,we ars'or the Opinionthat the agentsin question, prior to April 1, 1939, were not in the employmentof the life Insuranoeacunpany. However,Ii these partloularweeklyp4mente are not chargedWaInst the aomIssIons earned by the agents, then they must be scmethine: other than loan0 or advsmes on oomia5IQns. ThIebeIngtrue,whatwe have s&l Inan- swer to your first questionwould not be applicable. wrore pas&n& to the oaoon& question,we wish to ooment on RegulationHo. 37, (nowRegulationNo. 331 pro- mulgatedbg the Com5.ssion,whloh, we balIeve,Is in ooz& :~:' '~+- flIctwith what WC have heretoforesaId. This Regti$atIon rends,In pmt, ~a follows: "All enlployaeo of Insurfinoe 0ompanIss and oorporntionncrc 'subject'employees, exceptagente,a8 hereinafterset out. "Agentsfar the purposesof this 8x9 ceptlonare those indlvldualeoolraniesioned by lnsumrme co5penIesor corporationsto representtha In ths sale6 of insurance of any sortwhom r~WIon ooneiats only br coMiissIonson the smotlnt 0r the aforesaIdsales.* (tfaderlaaorln& ours) The obova ResulatIonprovided,in substame, that Konornble0. R. Mlll&, Page 9 lnsumnoe agents are exempt loyesttonlywbmthsirm- muneratlonoonslrtsor aonml8a K om on the mile 0r Msuranoe. fie ___ Cat I-_._~- .~_. nrovidsdthat insurancec&ents Who aolleattMlZ oonp~satioa on n oommleslonbaeIiiw tire ezongtemployees. Under the r6CtG set out herein,the acent reoeivesa Qua- 1Pis8ion for the colleotlon or oertainuoeklv premlw. Un- der the provlalonsof the dot grIor to April 1, 19939, he ~168an exemptemployeeelnoe the oorpIpiu&on would ba a part or his 0opqpensatl0n. It would seem, however,thaliif w shotild r00k t0 tb0 ~egulatiott or th0 c0dmi0a alcat0, the agentwould not be an excm#t ea@oyee beoauw tha aan- To the extent that ROgUlatlonNo. 87 ooafllob- ed with th0*hem0r0~ quoted 800tiar~or tb hot, tam m- tar governeduntil it8 rsgeal. AxtAo 6fZlb-17 (6) (11, supra, defines UsplOp msnt as r0umw "(8) 1 WoploytsuW mbbjeotto the other pro vu a on8 of this eubseotion, JUWL~I aervIoe,~InolUding eervloeIn i.ntar&iate tmmumae, perr0mitd ror wage6 or under any oontraotor hire wr%ttam or oral, sxgrass or Implied, provhrd that any servloeeper- rorinedby an lntli~l6ueil for wage@ shall be deemedto be cuqlo t oubdeotto thin t&t unless and untr it ia shown to the satl~raatlon or the Co~~~~Ztmion that such individualhaa been and wIl1 0ontIm.mto be free irOn oontrolor dS.reotlon over the pertormanoeof mob 8ervloeaboth under hi8 oontmmt or aemvloa aal in ?aot.* Artiole9281~17 (a), _ - VemXL*S hnnoimtedCivil stotutm, aerme6 wage85ae rw.m5t Xonorab1e.G. R. tiller,Pa&B 10 "(01 *Wages v mtmnu all 33mUll0ratlOn payablefor gefetngtreanloes, inoluding commissions . Them can be no doubt but what the agent renders a servloeto the ocmp~~ There oan be no doubt but fhat he reoelvee%agee8Ba8 a consideration for tha perfonuanoe of said servloe. The agent Is olearlyia'theemplogmant, OS the iaeuranoeoonlpanyualoee it can be shownthat he %ae been and will oontfnueto be free f'romoontrolor .diraotlonover the psrrormanoeof auch aervloe~both xxw dsr his contra& of aervloeand in faote* we’quote fron the oasa of craanmrlor oi kaerlaa, Ino., v. IndustrialGommiaefon,et al, 108 P. (Za) 306, supremecourt ofutah, a8 rou.mmt %ub6ivlalaa (6) of aubeeatlon(j) pro- vides, that, by an ipdlvldud ~Qervioos'perfor~&I ror wages shall be dwned to b8 uaploymont to this act unless and until it 1s atibjeot ~~CWXI t0 th0 mh3r~~tl~ or wu OO~DI sloa that - *'(a) ruoh indlvidualhaabesrr andrilL oontinueto be free rrom oontrolor dlnotlon over t& pet-lomanosof suoh semloea, both uner his oontraatot fserviooan6 in faotr *‘@I such serdoe 1s olther outsliIe the usual oourseOS the-buaiaessSor which suoh mrvloe la psrformed.or that suah sarv- 106 la psriormadoutaldo of all the laasr, df bus5nessor the entarprlsafor sd oh auoh servlo~ Is psrformsdiand w'(c) suoh indlvldwl is custcnmrlly . engagedin an independentlyestablishedtrade, oooupatlon,professionor bud.nausq,"' At page 606, the folXowin& Laagua&e is f'cundt HonorableC. 3. Miller,Fage 3.l WY* * The cloinantwas requiredto purahasea iruok whioh met the approvalof the ccm+ny, xhlch truokhad to be galnted ir e cortzinxznner and bear the co~~an;r~a nciilO thereon. Clobent ms required,it tight reesonnblyhave be& found, to sell the company*aproduotsat a certainprioe, iLClUdh~ C8rtahi *specials'whloh WBr8 'pushed'by the oonrpsny ocoaslonal.ly. The pricespaid by olalmant:or both 'speolalsf snd regularproduotswere fixed by the oom- pany, such prloes havinga dlreot relation- ship to the prloe for whlah suoh products aotlld be sold. Claimantwas requiredto keep his truck at the oompanygarage,and repairswere made thereonby the oompsny and ohargedto claimantwithouthis knowl- edge or OOnsentr Books of aooountwere supposedto be kept by olaimantwhloh books were requiredto be left at the ot- floe of tho oompanyunless oonsiznt was obtainedto take them home. The oompeny maintainedB speoialbank aoaountfor claiagntand daposlted.the money oolleot- ed from oustomers. Claimant~soheok book, used to draw on said bank aooount;waa requiredto be left at the oriioe. The oompanyhad a right to i-at olaiicant*a route and did so lnspeotit by malnteia- lng a reliefman who oaoaslonallg relieved claimant. Thin reliefma, who was an em- ployee of the oompany,made reportsto the oompnayon the oonditlonof olaWantf8 route. Some ool~eotlonsfroiuoustemere on olairnantls.route were also made by a reliefmnn who turned into the companyall sum ao aolleoted. In adaitlonto the a- bove, the oonpany made rsuggestlons* and cofferedadvS.oe* es to how claimantshould inoreasesales,make oollaotlons,eta. The contractunder whioh olalmantperformed h.l.8 esrvlasla could be terminated by the con- pany at any time upon two weeket notice or within 24 hours where a *teohnlcal* bremh of the contracthad been made.~ 2. Honorabl4C. R. Miller,Page I.3 under his wMzaat*. At all.eventsthe evleenos1s m&that ws oannotsay that the Co~&ralon must, as rsasoncblemen, have found that claimantwtm free from such control." In Industrialcommissionf. Eorthwestcrn Xut. l,ifeInns.CO.. 8Q P. (28) 560, SupramsCourt of Colorado, the 2usstloawciswhethsran agent of a life insura~e Oosi- pano was ln employmentof ths oonpanywitltin the manin& of the Oneqloynent Compsneatlon Act of t&t State. The definition of employment is the same as 1s set out In the Creameriesof Anarioacase, mapram The Court said: "In the preface to the 'Rulesand &a~;- ulatlons,'whloh are a parf of the oontruots herein,ws find this lan&age; 'It is self- evidentthat Q buslnsssl.&@rlng aush enor- anus detail as that of a la& fife -fnsuxanoe oampenyoaunotb4oonduot4dinahaphe&ard WW. There must be definiterulae by whiah 8mh edid ~3.n be cafii4e to completion. otherwioethe Yerioueparta of the maohlne will not work aamothlyand triafionand losa 0r *ifort *ill result.* "Ksrewe hem an admlasionof detafled dfreotion under ooaQ?aote‘tith the ~lndlvld$ ual! imolvsd herein. It would indeedre- quire e revolutlonazy chaugein the oonduot oT the 11;"sinsurauoebuslneea,as shown by the evidenas,to bring about a eltucrtion wherebyits ae8nte.woul.d be free from any oontrolor direstion.* In oooparingthe dsflxl$lonor employnmntln the above oases with the dsfini%lon of employmentin the Stet- utes of Textis,we L"inathe detlnltlonis exaotlpthe same In each insthnoe,with the enaeptlonthat Sections(b) and (0) a5 set out In the Creamrfee Of America aam, 5upr6, are not folindin the Texas dafinitlon. Sow other cases involvingthis $mstion area KaDermtt v. State,et al, 82 P. (Ed) 568; Globe Grain k Killbig, Co. v. IndustrialCarmission,et al, 91 P. (Zd) 512; i;nsmploynent CompensationCom.ission01 Zorth CarolinaV. JeZerooriStandardtire li3srCo., $ 8. E. (2d) 584; North- westemi Mut. Ltfe Ina. Co. f. Ton4 et al, 4 A. (2d) 6166 In Ra Perdeiak,19 N. Y. 8. (2d) 1600. To determinewhetherthe agent Is free fro5 oon- trol or directionof the lnauraltoe oompanY,we refer baok to the iaote. Xe fine that th4 ag4nt must attend a mset- lng everymorning,exaegtMonday, at a given time. He nnrstreport baok to the ofiloeafter he ha8 finished his If he 1s late for the mralng meetings,he fxes?i to rlillouleby the mmgof~ xfuu&l4to be presentat a meeting,he notlflesthe atanager.lieoolleote premiumsonoertaind-8 and ~oW~SagiVenn>ute in 80 do&l& A "md";y agent to 800 leot 4 oertaln 4mouut 8 job. ~austmak4O\rh oertainreport4et 04rtai.n qeoifled tlmar. .~romthe abow faots,16 in obofou8that tha agrb3tie subjsotto n&um kind of oontrolor dimatic?n, In the 0884 of AaerleemNat. fnrr,00.". Dea)n, 4t tie 9s 8. IT.(2d) 870, the t-hUUhtiOnOr App44b h4u that am lmuranoe oompanywas not liablefor the negligent not of the agent in the ogeratlo&t of hi8 autimobllewhile ealloltlng new bwlneea. The ia &n thin oaee are pmo- tie the aam as thaw Involvedhenr The oourt held that % prlnolpal dldnothw4thaOt 402 qontr4lc~4r the agentwhioh would render the prinofpal.Uable for the agent0n4gllg4noe. I4 do not bellevethat the above oaee ia oontrol- llng of the questioninvolvedheru. If the Yagialature had wqutee these agent@ exempted,why did it repeal tba very prorlslonwhioh exemptedthem? We think tb language round in the ~reaneriesof &mrioa 0~4, supra,16 enlight- enlng. We quote aa follower n* * ** The fact that n4lthm the term *employee* nor the tern *independentoontllaotor' Is mod any where in the Unemployrmnt C4mp4n4a- tlon not le itt34irlndioativethat the legiel.a- ture did not intendto UBB the relatiormhipe of 'independent oontzmtcir or *employer-amployae~, as d&incd by the common law, 88 the orlterla to determinewho are sntftledto benefitsunder RanarableCl 8. Itiller, Page 15 the+3noaploymllt",oqpsnoationAat. The I-,07 . le uwd thro*ut wvml 'lJlillvi&usl' not to refer to the person seekidn(; the unem- bullefitn.;:rUlothe term 'en+ ~loylne.nt player'ami 'enploylq unit' am uaed, they are ejmoiffoan~ define4by the hot no that they have a Gstinot rmeclng wMoh my or may nat coincidewith t$e* * ,, ordfnaryooMeption or"'eEIpl0yer. . In our cpinfonX0. O-1290,soma lang!stge Watt used wtioh ml&t be taken to indloatean opinionthat the oommonlaw principlea laid down In our 5tieOsr and 06rvant oases tight be lookedto Sor the purposeof a~terminln6 w&itthrror not a person I# an eatplo~me wlthla thi8 Aot. That, howet6r.16 not n60688ariJ.y tna6. Wh5.10 'an lOY66 undra that line of oasen woulR un&oubtsOy be an ag To ym withinthe Aot, we do not beUsve that t&e oomver80w~uliI alwayobe true. For the reaaoneherclAngive&,WB are af tba opinion that the agent In @mstion ia ana ban bean dnoe April 1, th6 alploymentoftheiaauraoa* ooalpsnywl~ths of the Texae unemp10yiMnt aoPrpen8ation hot, four8 Y6ry tmly ATTORt'G'Y(3RREXAL~T~ Glenn R. Lexfe AeeiBtMt A~'I'OR?JEY GENERAL