With increasingly diverse and complex work arrangements, companies face challenges in answering a seemingly basic legal question: Is a worker an employee of the company, or an independent contractor?

On June 13, the National Labor Relations Board took up that question in Atlanta Opera Inc. A board majority in Atlanta Opera held that a group of makeup artists, wig artists and hairstylists who work at the Atlanta Opera are employees, not independent contractors, as the terms are defined in the National Labor Relations Act.