North American Builders, Inc. v. Unemployment Compensation Division, Department of Employment Security

453 P.2d 142, 22 Utah 2d 338, 1969 Utah LEXIS 614
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedApril 8, 1969
Docket11277
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 453 P.2d 142 (North American Builders, Inc. v. Unemployment Compensation Division, Department of Employment Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
North American Builders, Inc. v. Unemployment Compensation Division, Department of Employment Security, 453 P.2d 142, 22 Utah 2d 338, 1969 Utah LEXIS 614 (Utah 1969).

Opinions

CALLISTER, Justice:

Certiorari to review a decision of the Board of Review of the Industrial Commission affirming the order of the Department of Employment Security and the Appeals Referee, that the plaintiff, North American Builders, Inc., is liable for contributions to. the Unemployment Compensation Fund on moneys paid by it to certain installers under the provisions of Sec. 35-4-22 et seq., U.C.A.1953.

Specifically, the question to be determined is whether, under the circumstances, the installers involved are excepted from the Act by the provisions of Sec. 35-4 — 22 (j) (5) which reads:

Services performed by an individual for wages or under any contract of hire, written or oral, express or implied, shall be deemed to be employment subject to this act unless and until it is shown to the satisfaction of the commission that—
(A) Such individual has been and will continue to be free from control or direction over the performance of such services, both under his contract of hire and in fact; and
(B) Such service is either outside the usual course of the business for which such service is performed or that such service is performed outside of all the places of business of the enterprise for which such service is performed; and
(C) Such individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or busi[340]*340ness of the same nature as that involved in the contract of service.1

Plaintiff is engaged in the business of selling metal siding and other materials for home improvements. Salesmen solicit orders from home owners and enter into contracts on forms furnished by the plaintiff. The parties to the contract are the plaintiff and the home owner, and plaintiff is obligated thereunder to furnish the materials and install them. The installation is done by installers who receive from plaintiff $17 per square of hundred feet with an additional $5 per square for stripping or work 100 miles beyond Salt Lake City. If the installer must perform any extra labor, the salesman must approve and pay for the same.

After the plaintiff approves a contract submitted by a -salesman, it contacts an installer to inquire if he will contract to perform the installation. There are approximately IS crews in the area who are engaged in this special trade. The number of companies engaged in business similar to plaintiff’s is also limited. The two groups are familiar with each other by reputation without the necessity of advertising. The siding companies have the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the installers, and the installers also contact the companies to determine if there were work available.

If an installer accepts a project, he picks up the materials at plaintiff’s warehouse and goes to the job site. If he needs additional supplies, he may contact plaintiff or go to a lumber yard and either charge the materials to plaintiff or pay cash and be reimbursed. The installer furnishes his own truck and tools, hires his own helpers and determines their compensation. There is no evidence to indicate that plaintiff exercises any direction or control over the manner or means by which the applicator accomplishes the result. The installer receives a completion certificate from the home owner and upon presentation thereof to plaintiff, he receives the installation fee. Some of the installers are licensed by the State as specialty contractors.

The Appeals Referee found that the installers were dependent on the supplier contractors for their livelihood, and if unable to obtain employment from these companies, they were unemployed. He concluded that the facts do not show any substantial investment as might be expected of an independent establishment or any development of an independent clientele from which the installer might expect a livelihood independent of his work with the plaintiff or its competitors.

The Board of Review found that plaintiff failed to prove that the individuals were customarily engaged in independently [341]*341established occupations or businesses within the 'meaning of Section (j) (5) (C)' of the Employment Security Act. The Board observed that, in fact, the testimony fully supports a finding by the Referee that the individuals were not so customarily engaged. It stated that it appeared they were working for wages on a piece rate basis determined by the employer and said services were definitely performed within the definition of the statute.

Although the Referee found that the installers were not free from control (j) (5) (A), the Board made no finding in this regard. A survey of the record does not reveal any evidence that reasonably supports a finding that plaintiff exercised any control over the performance of the installers.

The Referee determined that part of the services was performed at plaintiff’s place of business (j) (5) (B). The cited evi-dentiary basis to support this finding was the fact that the installer took his truck to plaintiff’s warehouse, where he assisted in loading the materials, which took approximately one-half an hour.

Plaintiff contends that this, loading was incidental to the service the installer perr formed, and we agree. There is no basis to hold that the remuneration paid to the installers for the performance of their skilled work was contingent on their minor 'participation in this incidental drayage function.

The basic point of contention involves (j) (5) (C); were the installers engaged in an independently established trade or business of the same nature as that involved in the contract of service?

In Leach v. Board of Review,2 upon which the Board places great reliance in the instant case, this court observed:

In Fuller Brush v. Industrial Comm., supra [99 Utah 97, 104 P.2d 201, 129 A.L.R. 511], we pointed out that a shoe shiner, an auto mechanic, a plumber and a barber meet this requirement because the services which they perform emanate as a part of a business in which they are engaged. They perform services for others while in the pursuit of a business independently established and in which they are customarily engaged and for which service, like a common carrier, they hold themselves out to perform. * * * In other words, the “independently established business” must exist independent of the services under consideration in the sense that it is the whole — of which the particular service is a part. * * *
* * * When the services of a dealer were terminated by the plaintiffs, he became unemployed and had to secure employment elsewhere. He had no business [342]*342of bis 'own to fall ■ back • on — •a business established independently of his relationship with the plaintiffs and for which his services for the plaintiffs emanate, a business in which he was customarily engaged aside from his relationship with the plaintiffs.

The Board has reasoned that the installers were not engaged in an independently established trade because when they were not employed by plaintiff or its competitors in the industry, they were unemployed.

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

Related

Sinclair Builders, Inc. v. Unemployment Insurance Commission
2013 ME 76 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2013)
Petro-Hunt, LLC v. Department of Workforce Services
2008 UT App 391 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2008)
Nyer v. Maine Unemployment Insurance Commission
601 A.2d 626 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1992)
Carpet Remnant Warehouse, Inc. v. New Jersey Department of Labor
593 A.2d 1177 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1991)
Ellison, Inc. v. Board of Review
749 P.2d 1280 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 1988)
Solar Age Manufacturing, Inc. v. Employment Security Department
714 P.2d 584 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 1986)
New Sleep, Inc. v. Department of Employment Security
703 P.2d 289 (Utah Supreme Court, 1985)
Barney v. Department of Employment Security
681 P.2d 1273 (Utah Supreme Court, 1984)
South Dakota Department of Labor v. Tri State Insulation Co.
315 N.W.2d 315 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1982)
Blamires v. Board of Review, Etc.
584 P.2d 889 (Utah Supreme Court, 1978)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
453 P.2d 142, 22 Utah 2d 338, 1969 Utah LEXIS 614, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/north-american-builders-inc-v-unemployment-compensation-division-utah-1969.