Name
Estate of Cole v. Girl Scouts of Maine
Insurance Company
Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company
Date Decided
November 2, 2015
Panel Members
David Hirtle
Sue Jerome
Tom Pelletier
Categories
Employee / er DefinitionsTags
File Size
98 KB
DownloadSummary from the Troubh Heisler Attorneys
Mr. Cole and his surviving spouse filed for benefits pertaining to a head injury he suffered while working for the Girl Scouts. The case was bifurcated to decide whether Mr. Cole was an employee under the Act. Judge Stovall issued a decree that Mr. Cole was an employee at the relevant time. The Girls Scouts appealed, arguing that the determination that Mr. Cole was an employee and not a volunteer was not supported with competent evidence.
The panel affirmed Judge Stovall’s decision that Mr. Cole was an employee under the Act at the time of injury. The Act defines “employee,” in part as “every person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written.” Section 102(11). The judge found as fact that the Girl Scouts offered Mr. Cole employment, he performed services for them, and he received payment for his services. There was competent, credible evidence from Mr. Cole and his wife that he was offered a part-time job by the Girl Scouts in the summer. The panel rejected the Girl Scouts’ argument that the yearly payments to Mr. Cole were an honorarium paid gratuitously in recognition of his services as a volunteer, and, therefore, not payment for work.