True or false, Employees and Independent Contractors may be hired to perform the same task or function, that is, as a matter of fact and law.

If I understand your question, true.  The difference between employees and independent contractors is in the amount of discretion they have in their tasks, the amount of supervision and direction given to them by the principal, not what task or function they perform.  The distinction, however, is important in many situations, because the answer to many questions can be different depending on whether the person is an employee or an independent contractor, including whether the principal is responsible for the negligence of the agent, whether the agent is entitled to unemployment coverage, whether he is coverd by the principal's insurance, whether he can sue the principal for a job-related injury or is relegated to collecting worker's compensation, etc.