Better get a lawyer, son; better get a real good one.
In my case, the "effective operational control" of the flight in which I'm carried in my aircraft from A to B is the responsibility of the pilot whom I've engaged to provide that service. The personal transportation of the owner of an aircraft is a private operation for which an AOC is not required. (Cue all the folklore subscribers to start arguing about classification of operations. To touch on a theme in another thread: I couldn't be bothered engaging in that argument for yet another pointless time.) All your complicated permutations, Xeptu, raise other complicated issues.
Your biggest problem, at the moment, seems to be the rights of and your obligations to those whom you describe as casual employees.