Shout out to my colleague and friend Michael Conklin (Angelo State), who inspired the topic of Class #7 of my Advanced Topics in Law class and who is one of the most (if not the most) innovative and entertaining business law professors I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. But why does this question matter? For two reasons: (1) business firms are generally liable for the torts of their employees but not for those of their contractors, and (2) the business models of more and more new economy firms (like Uber and AirBnB) are built on independent contractors. Here are Professor Conklin’s thoughts about this matter, and here are my own previous thoughts on this important question.