Legal Definitions - employer

An employer is a person, company, or organization that hires someone to work for them. The employer pays the employee a salary or wage and has the power to control the employee's work duties. When an employer hires someone, they make an agreement with the employee that gives the employer the right to tell the employee what to do at work.

• A small business owner who hires a part-time worker to help with administrative tasks is an employer.
• A largecorporation that hires thousands of employees around the world is also an employer.
• A non-profit organization that hires volunteers to help with events is not an employer because they do not pay the volunteers.

These examples illustrate the definition of an employer because they all involve someone hiring another person to work for them. In the first two examples, the employers pay their employees and have the power to control their work duties. In the third example, the non-profit organization does not pay their volunteers, so they are not considered employers.