Labor & Employment – North Carolina Joint Employment Doctrine – Joint Employer

Plaintiff-employee did not satisfy the control requirement for joint employment.

We reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals to the extent that the court held Truesdell Corporation qualified as a joint employer.

Plaintiff began working for defendant, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO), as a law enforcement officer (LEO) in 2008. As an employee of RCSO, plaintiff was able to earn additional income by accepting approved off-duty employment opportunities. Captain Obershea and Deputy Edwards were responsible for the approval and coordination of off-duty employment requests at RCSO. In the late evening of plaintiff’s shift, Captain Obershea told plaintiff to switch positions with him on the route. Plaintiff then moved his unmarked patrol car with blue lights activated to assume Captain Obershea’s position directing traffic. While plaintiff was directing traffic at his new position, he was struck by a vehicle and thrown into the air. Plaintiff sustained serious injuries and received extensive medical treatment as a result. Plaintiff then sought to obtain workers’ compensation from both RCSO and defendant Truesdell Corporation.

Plaintiff filed a Form 18 Notice of Accident to Employer, listing both RCSO and Truesdell as his employers at the time of injury. RCSO and Truesdell each denied the existence of an employment relationship. The North Carolina Industrial Commission held plaintiff was employed by RCSO at the time of his injury but not by Truesdell. The Court of Appeals held the Full Commission correctly concluded plaintiff was not an independent contractor but erred in concluding Truesdell was not liable as a joint employer.

Neither Truesdell defendants nor RCSO defendants challenged the Court of Appeals’ determination that plaintiff was an employee of RCSO, rather than an independent contractor. Thus, the sole issue before this Court was whether RCSO was plaintiff’s sole employer or whether plaintiff was also jointly employed by Truesdell. We held that RCSO was plaintiff’s sole employer. An implied contract for hire between plaintiff and Truesdell can be inferred from the circumstances. Plaintiff knew he would be completing off-duty work for a company engaged in highway repair and that this company would pay him $55 per hour for his off-duty labor. Similarly, Truesdell was aware LEOs like plaintiff were implementing its NC DOT-approved traffic control plan. Accordingly, plaintiff established an implied contract for hire between Truesdell and himself.

Plaintiff failed to establish simultaneous control by both employers. Rather, plaintiff was supervised by Captain Obershea and Deputy Edwards from RCSO and independently exercised the manner in which he directed traffic. Such circumstances do not satisfy the “crucial test” of control by Truesdell.

Plaintiff was engaged in protecting the public safety by directing the route of traffic during road repairs. Importantly, plaintiff’s traffic control work was in furtherance of both his duty as a police officer and Truesdell’s road repair project. Therefore, the nature of the work requirement was satisfied.

Plaintiff was not subject to sufficient control to render Truesdell a joint employer. RCSO was plaintiff’s sole employer at the time of the accident.

Reversed in part.

Lassiter v. Robeson County Sheriff’s Department (Lawyers’ Weekly No. 010-055-25, 38 pp.) (Tamara Barringer, J.) Appealed from the Court of Appeals, which affirmed in part and reversed in part an opinion by the North Carolina Industrial Commission. McIntyre Law Office, PLLC, by Stephen C. McIntyre, for plaintiff-appellee. Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe & Garofalo LLP, by M. Duane Jones and Neil P. Andrews, for defendant-appellants Truesdell Corporation and The Phoenix Insurance Company. Goldberg Segalla LLP, by Allegra A. Sinclair and Gregory S. Horner, for defendant-appellees Robeson County Sheriff’s Department and Synergy Coverage Solutions. Wilson Ratledge, PLLC, by Frances M. Clement, for American Property Casualty Insurance Association, amicus curiae. North Carolina Supreme Court