Q. D.-A., Inc. v. Indiana Department of Workforce Development

96 N.E.3d 620
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 5, 2018
Docket93A02-1703-EX-556
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 96 N.E.3d 620 (Q. D.-A., Inc. v. Indiana Department of Workforce Development) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Q. D.-A., Inc. v. Indiana Department of Workforce Development, 96 N.E.3d 620 (Ind. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinions

Friedlander, Senior Judge

[1] Appellant Q. D.-A., Inc. ("Company") appeals from the determination of the Liability Administrative Law Judge (LALJ) that Claimant was an employee of Company rather than an independent contractor, such that Company was liable to the State for unemployment insurance taxes. We reverse.

[2] Company presents one issue for our review, which we restate as: whether the LALJ's conclusion that Claimant was an employee of Company under Indiana Code section 22-4-8-1 (2006) was unreasonable.

[3] Company acts as a middleman between qualified drivers and companies that manufacture recreational and other large vehicles. Specifically, Company pairs drivers with companies for the transport of these vehicles to dealerships and customers-known in the industry as "drive-away services." On January 9, 2013, Claimant entered into a contract with Company to provide drive-away services.

[4] Claimant subsequently filed for unemployment insurance benefits with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (IDWD). On April 14, 2015, the IDWD issued a determination of wage investigation notifying Company that it had misclassified payments it made to Claimant. Company filed a protest to the IDWD's determination, and the LALJ held a hearing on Company's protest. Following the hearing, the LALJ concluded that the services provided by Claimant constitute employment such that Company owed to the State unemployment insurance taxes on payments made to Claimant. Company now appeals.

[5] The Indiana Unemployment Compensation Act provides that "[a]ny decision of the liability administrative law judge shall be conclusive and binding as to all questions of fact." Ind. Code § 22-4-32-9(a) (1995). When the LALJ's decision is challenged as contrary to law, we are limited to a two-part inquiry into the sufficiency of the facts found to sustain the decision and the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the finding of facts.

*622Ind. Code § 22-4-32-12 (1990). Under this standard, basic facts are reviewed for substantial evidence, conclusions of law are reviewed for their correctness, and ultimate facts are reviewed to determine whether the LALJ's finding is a reasonable one. Bloomington Area Arts Council v. Dep't of Workforce Dev. , 821 N.E.2d 843 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005). Ultimate facts are conclusions or inferences from the basic facts. Id.

[6] Company argues the LALJ wrongly determined that Claimant was an employee of Company within the meaning of Indiana Code section 22-4-8-1. For purposes of determining when an employer is liable for unemployment taxes, employment is defined as "service ... performed for remuneration or under any contract of hire, written or oral, expressed or implied." Ind. Code § 22-4-8-1(a). Further,

[s]ervices performed by an individual for remuneration shall be deemed to be employment subject to this article irrespective of whether the common-law relationship of master and servant exists, unless and until all the following conditions are shown to the satisfaction of the department:
(1) The individual has been and will continue to be free from control and direction in connection with the performance of such service, both under the individual's contract of service and in fact.
(2) The service is performed outside the usual course of the business for which the service is performed.
(3) The individual:
(A) is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business of the same nature as that involved in the service performed; or
(B) is a sales agent who receives remuneration solely upon a commission basis and who is the master of the individual's own time and effort.

Ind. Code § 22-4-8-1(b). Thus, pursuant to the terms of the statute, all workers are presumed to be employees until an employer demonstrates that all three factors are fulfilled.

1. Freedom from Control

[7] To establish that an individual is not an employee, part (1) of the statutory test requires a putative employer to demonstrate that the individual has been and will continue to be free from control and direction in the performance of such service, both under the contract and in fact. See Ind. Code § 22-4-8-1(b)(1). To meet this requirement, an employer must show it lacks control and direction over the manner, method, and means in which the services are performed by the worker. Circle Health Partners, Inc. v. Unemployment Ins. Appeals of Ind. Dep't of Workforce Dev. , 47 N.E.3d 1239 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).

[8] Here, the LALJ found that Company "provides a two day orientation class to its independent contractors which includes 'the appropriate training for the position,' " "a DOT [Department of Transportation] physical, drug screen, information on Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act (FMCS) regulations, employer policies, and a driving test" and that Company "provides the FMCSR pocketbook to its independent contractors." Appellant's App. Vol. 2, p. 9. The LALJ then concluded that although Claimant was free to choose his routes and to hire other drivers to perform the service, the orientation "is evidence that the claimant was not free from the employer's right to control." Id. at 11.

[9] On appeal, Company argues that the LALJ's determination is not supported by the evidence. Specifically, Company contends that the basis of the LALJ's conclusion-that the orientation provided by Company demonstrates employer control-is incorrect.

*623a. Under the Contract

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Related

Q.D.-A., Inc. v. Indiana Department of Workforce Development
114 N.E.3d 840 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2019)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
96 N.E.3d 620, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/q-d-a-inc-v-indiana-department-of-workforce-development-indctapp-2018.