When is an employee not an employee for purposes of the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law (WPCL), 43 Pa. Cons. Stat. Section 260.1? More specifically, when is the company’s executive vice president, hired as a senior member of the company’s management team, who is to receive $140,000 per year, plus $400 per month in ongoing expenses as a base salary, plus participation in the company’s benefits package, not an employee? That was the question raised in a recent case filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Weber Miller v. Cerebain Biotech, No. 16-cv-03943 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 8).
According to her complaint, Miriam Weber Miller, who was hired by Cerebain in May 2014, to provide services and support relating to Cerebain’s public relations, investor relations and corporate growth strategies, was to be a senior member of the company’s management team. The details of the negotiations leading up to Weber Miller’s hiring were memorialized in an email from her to Cerebain’s CEO, defendant Eric Clemons, who was also named as a defendant in the case. That email stated, in pertinent part that Weber Miller would receive a base salary of $140,000 per year, plus $400 per month in ongoing expenses; a stipend in lieu of participating in the company’s benefits plan; stock options; and a formal start date of July 1. Thereafter, the company issued an announcement naming Weber Miller as “executive vice president.”
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