If an individual is found to be an independent contractor under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that individual cannot sue for discrimination under that law because they are not an employee. Only employees can claim legal protection under Title VII. A surgeon recently discovered this legal reality when she sued the hospital for discrimination. She sued because the hospital revoked her medical practice privileges. She claimed to be an employee (and not an independent contractor), and therefore sued the hospital as her employer under Title VII on the basis of her sex, religion and ethnicity.

U.S. DISTRICT COURT RULED THE SURGEON WAS AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR: The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted summary judgement in favor of the hospital because that Court found the surgeon was an independent contractor physician-not an employee of the hospital.

SURGEON APPEALED TO U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT: The surgeon then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The surgeon argued that she should be classified as an employee of the hospital (and therefore she was entitled to have legal protection under Title VII).

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Initially, the news that any individual in your company has filed an Internal Report detailing potential illegal, inappropriate or unethical behavior may seem like a terrible development and it is natural to feel shocked or concerned when such an event occurs but it is better than keeping it in the dark. Simply stated, if a "whistleblower" brings up a real problem, you may want to deal with it and get it resolved before the issue can affect the business' viability. In point of fact, a recent report in Harvard Business Review written by researchers Stephen Stubben of the University of Utah and Kyle Welch of the George Washington University found that internal whistleblowing is really a sign of a company's good health.

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