HDG Enterprises, Inc. v. Filings of the National Council on Compensation Insurance

856 P.2d 1037, 121 Or. App. 513, 1993 Ore. App. LEXIS 1124
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedJuly 7, 1993
Docket90-10-018; CA A72994
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 856 P.2d 1037 (HDG Enterprises, Inc. v. Filings of the National Council on Compensation Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
HDG Enterprises, Inc. v. Filings of the National Council on Compensation Insurance, 856 P.2d 1037, 121 Or. App. 513, 1993 Ore. App. LEXIS 1124 (Or. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

DEITS, J.

Employer is a retailer, primarily in the business of selling floor coverings. SAIF is its workers’ compensation insurance carrier. In May, 1990, SAIF conducted a premium audit of employer’s payroll for 1989, which resulted in an adjustment to reflect payments made to 13 installers during that time period. Employér requested a hearing before the Department of Insurance and Finance (DIF), arguing that the 13 installers were independent contractors and not employees subject to workers’ compensation insurance premium assessments. DIF concluded that all 13 installers were subject workers for the first three quarters of the year, January 1 to October 3, 1989, and that 12 of the 13 were subject workers for the last quarter of 1989. It affirmed the audit with the exception of the premium assessed for one installer in the fourth quarter and ordered SAIF to rebill employer. Employer assigns error to DIF’s ruling.

The time period covered by the final premium audit was from January 1,1989, to December 31, 1989. On October 4, 1989, new legislation became effective that defined “independent contractor” for workers’ compensation purposes. ORS 670.600.1 Therefore, we analyze this case in two time [516]*516periods: the first, from January 1 to October 3, 1989; the second from October 4 to December 31, 1989. S-W Floor Cover Shop v. Natl. Council on Comp. Ins., 121 Or App 402, 854 P2d 944 (1993).

For the first time period, we apply the common law right to control test to determine if the installers were subject workers. The elements to be examined are: (1) the right to or the exercise of control; (2) the method of payment; (3) the furnishing of equipment; and (4) the right to terminate. We review DIF’s findings for substantial evidence and to determine whether the findings support its conclusions as a matter of law. Salem Decorating v. Natl. Council on Comp. Ins., 116 Or App 166, 171, 840 P2d 739 (1992), rev den 315 Or 643 (1993); Castle Homes, Inc. v. Whaite, 95 Or App 269, 769 P2d 215 (1989).

[517]*517DIF found:

“In a typical sales transaction, a customer first contacted [employer] to purchase floor covering. Floor coverings were sold to customers by [employer] at a price which included installation. [Employer’s] salesperson would assist the customer in selecting the floor covering and would measure the area in which the floor covering was to be installed or otherwise determined the amount of material required. The sales staff usually drew a rough sketch of the room in which the floor covering'was to be installed. This rough sketch would contain a suggested position for any seams as well as other details of the installation.
“Once the customer had agreed to purchase floor covering at a specified price, [employer] selected an installer. The selection of a particular installer was determined by ability to do the work, availability to do the work to coincide with the customer’s schedule, cleanliness, personality, and the ability to get along with the customer.
“[Employer] had written agreements with the 13 installers at issue in this case, although some of the contracts were signed after work was completed. * * * [Employer] used a form contract which was drafted by its legal counsel. It is unclear whether there was a contract for the prior year in every case, but the majority of the contracts were renewed.”

DIF concluded that employer had a substantial degree of control it could exercise “if it so chose. ’ ’ It also found that, although employer “did not physically supervise the installations, [it] did regulate the quality of the work, and it was [employer] to whom the customer turned if there was a problem with the quality of the installation.” DIF found that the installers purchased and maintained their own equipment, that employer paid its installers twice per month and that employer “believed it had no right to fire an installer unless the installer failed to perform as specified by the written agreement.” DIF concluded that the control factor and the right to fire factor were neutral, that the equipment factor indicated independent contractor status and that the method of payment factor indicated an employer-employee relationship. It therefore held that the right to control test was inconclusive. It then applied the relative nature of the work test, Woody v. Waibel, 276 Or 189, 197, 554 P2d 492 (1976), and under that test concluded that the 13 installers were subject workers.

[518]*518We review DIF’s findings for substantial evidence. However, whether a right to control exists under the facts as found is a question of law for the court. Substantial evidence supports DIF’s findings, and we agree with its conclusions on the latter three factors of the right to control test. However, we do not agree with DIF’s conclusion that the control factor of that test was neutral. In analyzing this factor under the common law right to control test, the question is not how much control the employer actually exercises, but how much control it has the right to exercise. Lockard v. The Murphy Co., 49 Or App 101, 104, 619 P2d 283 (1980), rev den 290 Or 519 (1981).

As DIF’s findings reveal, employer had the right to exercise significant control over the installers. DIF stated that the written agreements between employer and the installers provided that each

“installer was to perform an installation ‘at such times and in such places as [employer] shall request’ and that the installer ‘will make such installation in accordance with such work orders, blueprints and specifications as [employer] shall furnish.’ ” (Emphasis supplied.)

Moreover, DIF found that

“[t]he written agreement is replete with references indicating the degree of control [employer] could exercise if it so chose. [Employer] was specific about the nature and quality of the finished product desired. While [employer] did not physically supervise the installations, [employer] did regulate the quality of the work, and it was [employer] to whom the customer turned if there was a problem with the quality of the installation.”

We conclude, under the facts found, that employer had the right to exercise control over how the installations were done, and in most cases exercised that control through the use of specifications in the work order. Therefore, the right to control test indicated an employer-employee relationship. See Salem Decorating v. Natl. Council on Comp. Ins., supra, 116 Or App at 170. Accordingly, for different reasons, we agree with DIF’s conclusion that the 13 installers were subject [519]*519workers for the period January 1 to October 3, 1989, and uphold DIF’s order to that extent.2

Employer also contends that five installers — Kyllo, Palmer (for Palmer Floors), David, Collier and Nelson — were statutorily exempt from assessment for the first three quarters because they were licensed by the Employment Division. It is undisputed that, before October 4, 1989, the installers who were licensed by the Employment Division were conclusively presumed to be independent contractors. Former ORS 656.029(3)

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Bluebook (online)
856 P.2d 1037, 121 Or. App. 513, 1993 Ore. App. LEXIS 1124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hdg-enterprises-inc-v-filings-of-the-national-council-on-compensation-orctapp-1993.