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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
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    Default Day Laborer is Claiming He Hurt His Back While Moving Business Property

    I hired two laborers to help me move some stuff from my business to a friend's business. One of the two laborers called in someone to help them. The person that was called in, is now stating he hurt his back and had to go to the emergency room and is requesting I pay his medical bills or he will pursue legal action. I paid each person, 40 dollars cash for 2 hours work. None of the laborers are employees or licensed contractors.

    My works comp will not cover as he is not an employee. I also found out that he had a previous injury at his full time job on a farm. I believe he filed a claim with them.

    I wondering if I'm liable and/or if he has a case. I live in Colorado.

    Thanks for any help and/or information provided!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    Default Re: Laborer Stating He Hurt His Back While Helping Me Move

    were these just guys off the street or did they work for some company?

    Are they regularly employed as general laborers?

    Do you have a contract or was this just a verbal agreement?

    please don't say they were day laborers you picked up from in front of Home Depot but, were they?

  3. #3
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    Jan 2016
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    Default Re: Laborer Stating He Hurt His Back While Helping Me Move

    They were not picked up from home depot or do I believe them to be day laborers that stand in front of home depot. I asked one of my employees if she knew anybody that could help me move some things. She recommended two guys who then brought the guy who hurt his back. None of the guys who helped moved represent any company. They are not regular employees nor were they contracted for anything. It was a verbal agreement at best.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Laborer Stating He Hurt His Back While Helping Me Move

    Quote Quoting harrou86
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    They are not regular employees nor were they contracted for anything. .
    well, you have either they were employees or they were contracted for some purpose. It can't be a "neither" situation.

    here is something from the state of Colorado. It is an attempt to determine employees from independent contractors.

    https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdl...nt-contractors

    here is an excerpt from another state publication:

    https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sit...n%20Manual.pdf
    INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORSA person hired to perform services for pay is presumed by law to be an employee unless they meetthe definition of an independent contractor or qualify under a specific exemption provided byworkers' compensation laws. A person who works as an independent contractor and can prove thatthe person meets the legal definition of an independent contractor is not an employee and is notentitled to workers' compensation benefits unless the person buys a separate policy.

    If a business hires an individual as an independent contractor, the independent contractor must be:

    - Free from the business' control and direction over how the service is performed;

    and - Customarily engaged in an independent trade, occupation, profession, or business relatedto the service being performed.
    Unless these guys customarily engaged in business related to the services being performed, it sounds a lot like they were in fact employees.

    Unless you can show they were in fact independent contractors, by default they were employees.

  5. #5
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    Mar 2013
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    Default Re: Laborer Stating He Hurt His Back While Helping Me Move

    Quote Quoting harrou86
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    They were not picked up from home depot or do I believe them to be day laborers that stand in front of home depot. I asked one of my employees if she knew anybody that could help me move some things. She recommended two guys who then brought the guy who hurt his back. None of the guys who helped moved represent any company. They are not regular employees nor were they contracted for anything. It was a verbal agreement at best.
    It's to your advantage that they are employees. That way the injury is covered by workers compensation and you don't have to spend a fortune on defending yourself in court. Even if you win, your legal fees don't ever come back.

    Next time you want laborers, call a temp agency.

  6. #6
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    Dec 2009
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    Default Re: Laborer Stating He Hurt His Back While Helping Me Move

    I think OP may be confusing "licensed contractor" with "independent contractor." OP, these two terms can have very different meanings.

  7. #7
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    Oct 2014
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    Default Re: Laborer Stating He Hurt His Back While Helping Me Move

    Quote Quoting harrou86
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    My works comp will not cover as he is not an employee.
    What you described is basically a casual labor situation and I think you’ll find that in fact they are employees for worker’s comp purposes. Colorado’s worker’s comp law is very expansive regarding who all are considered employees and most cases of casual labor like this are indeed employees. Indeed Colorado’s worker’s comp statute tells you this because it provides an express exception from worker’s comp coverage for casual workers if the business or employer does not already employ workers subject to worker’s comp and certain other conditions are met. The problem here is that you evidently do already employ other workers who are covered by worker’s comp and thus this exception would not seem to help you. Specifically Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8-40-302(3) states:

    (3) Articles 40 to 47 of this title are not intended to apply to employers of casual farm and ranch labor or employers of persons who do casual maintenance, repair, remodeling, yard, lawn, tree, or shrub planting or trimming, or similar work about the place of business, trade, or profession of the employer if such employers have no other employees subject to said articles 40 to 47, if such employments are casual and are not within the course of the trade, business, or profession of said employers, if the amounts expended for wages paid by the employers to casual persons employed to do maintenance, repair, remodeling, yard, lawn, tree, or shrub planting or trimming, or similar work about the place of business, trade, or profession of the employer do not exceed the sum of two thousand dollars for any calendar year, and if the amounts expended for wages by the employer of casual farm and ranch labor do not exceed the sum of two thousand dollars for any calendar year.

    (Bolding added.) The part that I bolded is what tells you that this exception applies only if you have no other employees subject to the worker compensation law. I suggest you discuss this with a worker’s comp attorney and/or the worker’s comp carrier because this may well be something that needs to be submitted as a worker’s comp claim.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Day Laborer is Claiming He Hurt His Back While Moving Business Property

    Quote Quoting harrou86
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    My works comp will not cover as he is not an employee.
    To be clear, are you stating that they reviewed your claim and determined that he is an independent contractor, or are you stating that they are not covering the injury because they will only cover the employees you declare when your premiums are calculated, such that the denial is not based upon whether or not the worker was an employee but is instead based upon his not being employee covered by your insurance policy?

  9. #9
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    Mar 2013
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    Default Re: Day Laborer is Claiming He Hurt His Back While Moving Business Property

    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
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    are you stating that they are not covering the injury because they will only cover the employees you declare when your premiums are calculated,
    Workers Compensation policies don't require a "declaration" of employees, only an estimate of annual payroll at the beginning of the policy year and a premium adjustment at the end of the year based on actual payroll.

    "My works comp will not cover as he is not an employee"

    What's not clear is whether the OP filed a "First Report of Injury" with his insurance company and the claim got denied for some reason or whether the OP is balking at notifying his insurance company because he thinks the laborer is not an employee.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Day Laborer is Claiming He Hurt His Back While Moving Business Property

    As this Colorado worker's comp insurer indicates, "The nature of your business, number of employees being covered and past coverage and claims are all factors in how much your premium will cost." But even if we overlook that, we're talking about workers who were not added to the payroll. It raises the same issues for the carrier -- they don't want an insured to misrepresent its total payroll, then to try to add casual laborers to the policy when those "off the books" employees are injured.

    The OP still needs to clarify his statement.

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