Global Home Care, Inc. v. State, Department of Labor & Employment Security, Division of Unemployment Compensation

521 So. 2d 220, 13 Fla. L. Weekly 499, 1988 Fla. App. LEXIS 598, 1988 WL 11348
District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided February 17, 1988·No. No. 87-2003·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

FRANK, Judge.

Global Home Care, Inc. (Global) is a home health care agency providing health care and other in-home services to clients. Global is governed by sections 400.461, et seq., Florida Statutes (1985), and is regulated by the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, 5 Fla.Admin. Code 10D-68. Global has appealed from a determination of the Division of Unemployment Compensation that its “live-in aides” are employees rather than independent contractors.

An aide filed a claim for unemployment compensation benefits. Following an investigation, an initial determination letter from the Division set forth the finding that aides are employees rather than independent contractors. Following the conduct of a hearing, the hearing officer ratified that determination which was affirmed by the Division of Unemployment Compensation. Global appealed and we reverse.

Approximately five percent of Global’s business derives from the live-in aide services it offers. The aides’ primary functions are to provide companionship to the client and to perform household chores, such as preparing food, attending to nonmedical needs, dressing and running errands for the client. If, after interview, the prospective aides elect to become associated with Global a contract is executed which identifies them as “contract personnel” engaged as “independent contractors.” The aide agrees to provide home care “in coordination with and/or by supervision of others.” The aide agrees to keep records and weekly to provide Global with a report of services provided the client. The aides are required to have a valid driver’s license and car insurance, and are responsible for their own necessary licenses, personal insurance, and tax obligations. After being selected, the aides are given an “orientation” covering such matters as the “job description,” “time slips,” “progress notes,” “dress code,” and “contract.” Global’s policies, practices, and requirements are contained in an orientation packet that also includes instructions, remind[221] ers, and guidelines for conduct on the job and performance of the work.

When a client needs a live-in aide, Global contacts one who is free and offers her the assignment, which she is free to accept or decline. If Global is unable to locate an aide from its own list, it may contact another agency to arrange services for its client. Similarly, the aides, who alone determine their availability for work, can and do solicit similar work with another agency, and as long as there is no conflict they may contemporaneously work elsewhere. Once an aide has accepted an assignment, Global will advise her of the client’s requirements, but the client, together with the aide, will determine exactly how the service is to be performed.

Beginning in June of 1986, the effective date of certain HRS regulations, Global has used registered nurses to oversee the services provided to the clients. This practice constitutes Global’s compliance with the regulations’ requirement that supervision be provided in the home at least once every three months. See 5 Fla.Admin.Code 10D-68.019(2). The nurses’ visits are on an irregular, unscheduled basis, often occurring when the aide is not present. The nurses do not direct the aides on the job. Instead, they question the clients concerning their conditions and circumstances and determine whether the client has any complaints, problems, or other needs.

The aides are paid at a daily rate, the amount being dependent upon experience, capability, and the fee the client is willing to pay. Global sets the rate the client will pay. The aide has the client sign weekly time sheets and submits them to Global. Global then bills the client based on the time sheets and collects payment. Aides are paid on a weekly basis, or whenever time sheets are submitted and processed. No taxes or other deductions are taken from the aide’s pay, and they are provided no fringe benefits.

Based upon our assessment of the record, we have concluded that the special deputy misapplied the governing legal standards to the facts. In particular, the special deputy placed undue significance upon certain aspects of the relationship between Global and the aides resulting from pertinent statutes and HRS regulations. In reaching our conclusion we have followed the often-expressed proposition that the main consideration in evaluating whether employee or independent contractor status exists is control over the mode of performing work. If control is confined only to results, generally the worker is an independent contractor; if control extends to the means used to achieve the results, normally there is an employer-employee relationship. Kane Furniture Corp. v. Miranda, 506 So.2d 1061 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); D.O. Creasman Electronics, Inc. v. Department of Labor and Employment Security, 458 So.2d 894 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). In addition, Florida courts apply the test set out in Restatement (Second) of Agency § 220 (1958).*

In this case the analysis is somewhat complicated by the fact that Global must comply with statutory prescriptions and HRS regulations in order to maintain its license as a home health agency. See [222] § 400.474(2)(a), Fla.Stat. (1985). The statute, however, does contemplate that a home health agency can meet the requirements of the act yet still do business through independent contractors. See § 400.462(3), Fla.Stat.; 5 Fla.Admin.Code 10D-68.008(3). “Consistently the courts have held that regulation imposed by governmental authorities does not evidence control by the employer” for the purpose of determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. NLRB v. Associated Diamond Cabs, Inc., 702 F.2d 912, 922 (11th Cir.1983). The governmental regulations constitute supervision not by the employer but by the state. Local 777, Democratic Union Organizing Committee v. NLRB, 603 F.2d 862, 875 (D.C.Cir.1978).

The special deputy concluded that Global exercises control over the mode of work of the live-in aides stemming from some aspects of the work relationship that are responsive to HRS regulations. Thus, Global orients the aides to its policies and personnel requirements; workers must submit progress reports; on-site supervision is made by registered nurses at irregular intervals; and the aides are provided with written general instructions, reminders, and guidelines. Furthermore, if Global is to maintain compliance with HRS regula-, tions it must impose certain restrictions upon the aides, i.e., prohibiting engaging their own helpers and transporting clients in their own vehicles. Moreover, the aides must notify Global if problems arise on the job or if they will be absent from assigned duty.

The special deputy also found some aspects of the relationship significant that were not responsive to state regulations. These included the dress code and time sheet requirements. The dress code consists of a basic prohibition against wearing flip-flops, jeans, and t-shirts with slogans; and the aide is required to wear a logo pin on the initial visit so that the client can identify her as having been sent by Global. In our view, such minimal guidelines can hardly be deemed control. Similarly, the requirement that aides submit time sheets does not manifest control over the actual performance of work; rather, it is an administrative form providing a basis for the calculation of compensation.

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Global Home Care, Inc. v. State, Department of Labor & Employment Security, Division of Unemployment Compensation, 521 So. 2d 220, 13 Fla. L. Weekly 499, 1988 Fla. App. LEXIS 598, 1988 WL 11348 (Fla. Ct. App. 1988).

521 So. 2d 220 (Global Home Care, Inc. v. State, Department of Labor & Employment Security, Division of Unemployment Compensation) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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