Cases

Employer (client company) obtained its workers’ compensation coverage through an employee leasing arrangement. Applications for employment and general employment records from the employer were sent to the leasing company on a weekly basis each Tuesday. Payroll documents for employees were sent as accumulated for the preceding week notwithstanding the fact that the agreement between employer and leasing company required the employer to provide the leasing company with all employment paperwork prior to any new hire beginning work. On the first date of employment, the claimant in this case was injured while working for the employer and the question in this case was whether there was an employment relationship between the claimant and the leasing company since the claimant had begun work prior to the payroll records actually having been sent to the leasing company.

 

Court determined that the doctrine of equitable estoppel may be applied to establish an employment relationship in a workers’ compensation case. The elements necessary to establish equitable estoppel are: 1) a representation as to a material fact that is contrary to a later asserted position; 2) reliance on that representation; and 3) a change in position detrimental to the party claiming estoppel, caused by the representation and reliance thereon. Court determined that this doctrine could be applied in this instance to create an employment relationship between the claimant and the leasing company.

 

Equitable estoppel cannot be utilized to create insurance coverage. However, it can be utilized in creating an employment relationship between the claimant and the leasing company. Case remanded to determine if the leasing company was estopped to deny that the claimant was its employee.

 

If the determinative issue is whether the leasing agreement should be reformed by virtue of the course of dealings between the parties, the JCC would lack jurisdiction to resolve this dispute and the case must proceed in circuit court.