Also known as: servants · master-servant
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An agent employed by a master to perform service in the master's affairs whose physical conduct in the performance of the service is controlled or subject to the right of control by the master. The distinction from an independent contractor turns on the degree of control over physical details rather than merely the end result.
Stonehaven Properties obtained a preliminary injunction barring interference with a construction project. Summit Bank's project manager, acting as a servant under the bank's direction on physical site tasks, received actual notice of the order. When the manager continued directing crews to block access, the court held the bank in contempt because the servant's conduct fell within the scope of the injunction.
Sterling Dining supplied Jerry with a uniform and detailed instructions on tray posture and balance. Sterling's floor manager assigned stations and corrected Jerry's body position in real time during events. When Jerry spilled soup while following a manager's direction on tray angle, Sterling was vicariously liable because Jerry qualified as its servant under the right-to-control test.
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Sasha Stone hired Santiago Sanchez as a site foreman with authority to direct subcontractors. When Sanchez exceeded instructions and damaged neighboring property while supervising a pour, the owner was liable to the neighbor because Sanchez's inherent agency power as a servant existed to protect persons harmed by the agency relation.
Selena Singh learned that a coworker was embezzling funds. Singh had a duty to report the information to her employer because the employment relationship imposed an obligation of ordinary care and diligence in service to the master.
Sydney Santos, a government supervisor, was sued for constitutional violations committed by subordinates. Santos could not be held liable on a theory of respondeat superior because each official defendant must have violated the Constitution through the official's own individual actions.
Many employees within independent agencies performed routine tasks under supervision. Those employees did not qualify as officers exercising significant authority because their roles were subordinate functions rather than positions carrying the constitutional status of officers.
The right to control the physical conduct of the service separates a servant from an independent contractor. Control over details of performance rather than merely the end result establishes servant status.
No. Courts examine the actual degree of control over physical conduct rather than contractual labels. Real-time direction on technique and movement can establish servant status despite an independent-contractor agreement.
A master is liable for a servant's torts committed within the scope of employment. The right to control physical conduct places the master in a position to prevent harm through supervision.
No. Detailed on-site direction of physical movements by the client can establish the client's right to control even when an agency handles pay and discipline. The focus remains on control over the service performance.
…political activities. See n. 45, supra . These statutes burden the political expression of one class of speakers, namely, civil servants. Yet we have sustained them on the basis of longstanding practice and Congress’ reasoned judgment that certain regulations which leave “untouched full participation . . . in political…