Trucking Company Not a General Contractor; No Duty to Provide WC Coverage for "Sub's" Employee
Section 440.10(1)(a), Fla. Stat., requires "every employer coming within the provisions of this chapter" - including both general contractors and subcontractors - to obtain workers' compensation insurance covering their respective employees. But if for some reason a subcontractor fails to obtain the required coverage, then §440.10(1)(b), Fla. Stat., requires the general contractor's WC carrier to step in and provide any benefits owed if the subcontractor's employee is injured on the job. In such cases, the general contractor becomes the "statutory employer" of the subcontractor's employee.
But whether an employer is or is not an "independent corporation" has nothing to do with whether that employer is a "subcontractor." The First DCA again made that clear in Dunlap v. CSR Rinker Transport, decided on 2/29/2008. The Court held there that the JCC erred in concluding that Norma Deal Trucking was not a "subcontractor" just because it was an "independent corporation."
Despite the fact that the JCC employed the wrong test in reaching its conclusion, however, the Court affirmed the finding that Norma Deal Trucking in fact was not a "subcontractor" of CSR Rinker Transport. In order to be a "contractor" under §440.10(1)(b), "one must have an obligation to perform work for another." Even though Norma Deal had contracted to perform mechanical work on Rinker's trucks, there was no evidence that Rinker was performing a contractual obligation for any third party when it took its trailers to Norma Deal for mechanical repairs. Therefore, Rinker was not a "general contractor," and Norma Deal was not a "subcontractor," and Rinker was not obligated to provide workers' compensation benefits to Dunlap, an employee of Norma Deal, which had failed to secure workers' compensation insurance coverage.
This case also illustrates an application of the "tipsy coachman" doctrine, that is, that an appellate court will affirm the trial court where it reaches the correct result even though it might have done so for the wrong reason.
