Legal Definitions - hireling

A hireling refers to an individual who is employed or performs services primarily, or even exclusively, for monetary compensation. The term often carries the implication that the person's motivation is solely financial, rather than being driven by loyalty, passion for the work, or commitment to the employer's broader goals or mission.

Here are some examples to illustrate the concept of a hireling:

• Imagine a highly skilled political strategist who works for opposing political parties in different election cycles. This individual might craft campaigns for a conservative candidate one year and a progressive candidate the next, with their decision based entirely on which campaign offers the most lucrative contract. In this scenario, the strategist could be considered a hireling because their service is purely transactional; their loyalty and effort are directed by the payment received, not by any personal alignment with a particular political ideology or party.

• Consider a freelance technical writer brought in by a software company to create user manuals for a new product. This writer completes the assigned task efficiently, delivers the documentation, and then moves on to their next client, showing no particular interest in the company's long-term vision, employee culture, or the success of the product beyond the scope of their paid work. Their engagement is limited to the specific deliverables for which they are compensated, making them a hireling in the context of that project.