i am not a lawyer but ive been a hiring manager for a while so ill give you my understanding. > free from control and direction of the hiring entity in connect

i am not a lawyer but ive been a hiring manager for a while so ill give you my understanding. > free from control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work An independent contractor should be free to work when, where, and how they want. IE, you can't demand a contractor show up from 9-5 at your office, wearing a company uniform, and following employee policy. > the person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business for example, a company that sells software, might hire a contractor to update their online advertising. The company doesn't sell online advertising or have any expertise in it, and they don't have a need for a full time position for online advertiser. this one is going to be interesting for uber and lyft. right now, they identify and brand themselves as a ride sharing company. So rides ARE their business model. They might, for example, be able to pivot into a software company that licenses their ride-hailing software to drivers (who are license the software to help run their own independent businesses), then maybe they can get around this after some work. but right now its appears that drivers work for uber and lyft to deliver services to Uber/Lyft customers. > person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation or business this is the most straight forward of them all. If an IC provides their services, the same service, to more than one company, that's a good indication that they are running their own business and not working as an employee for another. Here, Uber and Lyft actually benefit from each other because a lot of drivers drive for both Uber and Lyft. Thats why we've seen both uber and lyft drop their exclusivity arrangements with drivers in recent years.