Supreme Court unanimously ruled on independent contractor issues in a non workers’ compensation case

This is a published supreme court decision

This is a very significant case for workers’ compensation principles.

This case did not come out of workers’ compensation but dealt with wage and hours. The case of S.G. Borello & Sons Inc. v Department of Industrial Relations still applies in Workers’ Compensation.

This case dealt with delivery drivers. They had been employees and then were reclassified as independent contractors. That is how the dispute arose.

The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision gave a three part test to determine independent contractor status where a worker is considered an independent contractor:

“(A) that the worker is free from the control and direction of the hirer in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of such work and in fact;

(B) that the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and

(C) that the worker is customarily engaged in independently established trade, occupation or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity.”

The burden of proof is on the employer to prove independent contractor status. Failure to prove any aspect means the worker is an employee.


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