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."
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