Name
Gross v. Ames Drywall Construction
Insurance Company
Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company
Date Decided
March 10, 2016
Panel Members
Timothy Collier
Sue Jerome
Tom Pelletier
Categories
Independent ContractorTags
Independent Contractor Employee Definition Subcontractor §105-A §102(13)
File Size
192 KB
DownloadSummary from the Troubh Heisler Attorneys
The panel upheld Judge Stovall’s denial of benefits because Gross was not Ames' employee. He ruled that the determination of whether a person is a "construction subcontractor" or an "employee" is governed by §105-A, and not by §102(13), which governs only pre-determinations of independent contractor status. Given the apparent conflicting presumptions in §105-A, however, the panel upheld Judge Stovall's decision not to apply either "presumption" but instead to require Gross to prove that he was Ames’ employee. Judge Stovall discounted the credibility of Gross’s testimony, however, even though he was the only witness, and the panel upheld an ALJ’s authority to do so.