Chapman v. Labor & Industry Review Commission

456 N.W.2d 637, 156 Wis. 2d 286, 1990 Wisc. App. LEXIS 305
CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedApril 10, 1990
DocketNo. 89-1909
StatusPublished

This text of 456 N.W.2d 637 (Chapman v. Labor & Industry Review Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chapman v. Labor & Industry Review Commission, 456 N.W.2d 637, 156 Wis. 2d 286, 1990 Wisc. App. LEXIS 305 (Wis. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

CANE, P.J.

The Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC) and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) appeal a circuit court ruling reversing LIRC and holding that Mark Chapman was eligible for worker's compensation benefits. LIRC and DNR argue that the circuit court erred when it held as a matter of law that Chapman, who was injured while cutting timber on DNR property, was performing services for DNR that were integrally related to its functions. In this case, that determination requires DNR to pay worker's compensation benefits to Chapman. We conclude that LIRC's determination was incorrect as a matter of law and, therefore, affirm the circuit court's grant of benefits.

DNR sold rights to cut timber in Governor Knowles State Forest to Otis Rand. Rand was to pay the state in accordance with the amount of timber cut. The contract between DNR and Rand required Rand to provide certification of adequate worker's compensation coverage for his workers. Rand hired Gene Thompson to assist him, and Thompson, in turn, hired Chapman, who was injured while cutting timber on the site. Neither Rand nor Thompson carried worker's compensation coverage that covered Chapman.

[289]*289At a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ), DNR presented undisputed testimony about DNR's role, its forest managery objectives and the mechanics of letting contracts to cut timber. Based largely on this testimony, Chapman's claim against DNR pursuant to the "contract under" statute, sec. 102.06, Stats., was denied by the ALJ, and by LIRC on appeal.1 The circuit court reversed, holding that the ALJ and LIRC erred as a matter of law by misapplying the "contract under" test to the facts of this case.2

Administrative orders are not reviewable unless made so by statute. Waste Management v. DNR, 128 Wis. 2d 59, 87, 381 N.W.2d 318, 330 (1986) (per curiam). But cf. State ex rel. First Nat'l Bank, 82 Wis. 529, 544-45 n.10, 263 N.W.2d 196, 203 n.10 (1978) (certiorari review available in the absence of statutory right). Section 102.23, Stats., establishes the nature and extent of judicial review of LIRC's decisions in worker's compensation matters and governs the scope of this court's review.

[290]*290Recently our supreme court issued an opinion that clarifies the standard to be applied in examining agency determinations of law and mixed questions of law and fact. In Drivers Local No. 695 v. LIRC, 154 Wis. 2d 75, 452 N.W.2d 368 (1990), the court examined LIRC's application of the term "wages" to union dues refunds under the Wisconsin Unemployment Compensation Law. The court determined that when applying that definition to a novel fact situation, no deference should be given to the agency's determination:

There is nothing in this case to suggest that the Commission has had any experience in interpreting the statute as measured against these facts of first impression. Nor, as explained in American Motors Corp. v. ILHR Dept., 101 Wis. 2d 337, 353-54, 305 N.W.2d 62 (1981), is there any evidence of the promulgation of administrative rules pertinent to the interpretation of the statute in light of the facts here. Most importantly, special deference to be afforded an agency is the result of a course of uniform interpretation over a period of time. Where a legal question is concerned and there is no evidence of any special expertise or experience, the weight to be afforded an agency interpretation is no weight at all. . . . Here, the standard of review must necessarily be de novo.

Id. at 10-11.

Here, although LIRC is charged with applying sec. 102.06, Stats., there is no evidence that it has applied the statute to a fact situation similar to the one in this case, much less applied it consistently and over a long period of time. LIRC has not demonstrated that it developed or interpreted rules refining or interpreting the statutory language. The application of sec. 102.06 to a set of facts is a question of law that is reviewable by this court. [291]*291Maryland Cas. Co. v. DILHR, 77 Wis. 2d 472, 475, 253 N.W.2d 228, 230 (1977). Consequently, although we accept LIRC's findings of fact, our review of its legal conclusions is de novo.

Applying this standard, we conclude that LIRC's interpretation of sec. 102.06, Stats., is erroneous. The purpose of sec. 102.06 is "to protect employees of irresponsible and uninsured subcontractors by imposing ultimate liability on the presumably responsible principal contractor, who has it within his power, in choosing subcontractors, to pass upon their responsibility and insist upon appropriate compensation protection for their workers." Green Bay Packaging, Inc. v. DILHR, 72 Wis. 2d 26, 37, 240 N.W.2d 422, 429 (1976) (quoting 1A Larson, Workmen's Compensation Law, ch. IX, sec. 49.11). (Emphasis in original.) Green Bay Packaging defines a contractor under as "one who regularly furnishes to a principal employer materials or services which are integrally related to the finished product or service provided by that principal employer." Id. at 36, 240 N.W.2d at 428. We conclude that Chapman was providing service integral to a DNR function and accordingly is eligible for worker's compensation benefits under sec. 102.06.

The first requirement under the Green Bay Packaging test is that the contractor, Rand, provide "materials or services" to the principal employer, DNR. LIRC found "the state has not contracted with anyone to perform services on its behalf in this situation. The state has merely sold to applicant's employers the timber in selected areas of the state's forests, the timber to be severed from the land and removed by the purchasers." We disagree with this legal conclusion.

[292]*292In relying heavily on the contract between DNR and Rand, LIRC has elevated form over substance. Although the contract gives some indication of the status of the parties, it is not controlling. See Schmidlkofer v. Industrial Comm'n, 265 Wis. 535, 539, 61 N.W.2d 862, 865 (1953). While not every contractual relationship requires a finding of contract under liability, here the facts warrant finding more than a simple buyer-seller relationship.

LIRC's decision relied heavily on the fact that Rand was paying DNR, rather than vice-versa. This fact alone does not necessitate a finding that Rand was not supplying DNR with a service. In Maryland Casualty, the court found that a franchisor was a contractor over, despite the fact that it had been paid by the franchisee for its name and expertise.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
456 N.W.2d 637, 156 Wis. 2d 286, 1990 Wisc. App. LEXIS 305, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chapman-v-labor-industry-review-commission-wisctapp-1990.