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Klausner v. Brockman10/30/2001
Appeal From: Labor and Industrial Relations Commission
Opinion Vote: AFFIRMED.
Smith, P.J., and Breckenridge, J., concur.
Opinion:
Helen Klausner and Ed Hanus ("Appellants") appeal from decisions issued against them by the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission ("Commission") on October 5, 2000. They allege that the Commission erred in adopting the July 7, 2000, decisions of the Division of Employment Security's Appeals Tribunal. The Commission found that certain domestic workers performed services for "wages" in "employment" for Appellants as those terms are defined in sections 288.036 and 288.034 RSMo, thereby obligating Appellants as employers to pay unemployment benefits on the workers' behalf. Appellants' cases concern similar facts and the same issues, so they have been consolidated for appeal.
Appellants present three issues for our consideration: (1) whether the twenty-factor test in IRS Revenue Ruling 87-41 remains the appropriate test to determine employment status, (2) whether the workers were excluded from state unemployment tax liabilities as "sitters" under Internal Revenue Code section 3506(b), and (3) whether the Commission erred in ultimately finding that the workers performed services for "wages" in "employment" of Ms. Klausner and Mr. Hanus, as those terms are defined in sections 288.036 and 288.034 RSMo.
We affirm.
Standard of Review
Missouri's Employment Security Law, as codified at Chapter 288 RSMo, governs this case. Section 288.210 RSMo controls our review of the Commission's decisions and states in relevant part that:
The findings of the Commission as to the facts, if supported by competent and substantial evidence and in the absence of fraud, shall be conclusive, and the jurisdiction of the appellate court shall be confined to questions of law. The court, on appeal, may modify, reverse, remand for rehearing, or set aside the decision of the Commission on the following grounds and no other:
(1) That the Commission acted without or in excess of its powers;
(2) That the decision was procured by fraud;
(3) That the facts found by the Commission do not support the award; or
(4) That there was no sufficient competent evidence in the record to warrant the making of the award.
Thus, provided the Commission's findings of fact are supported by substantial and competent evidence in the record, those facts are conclusive and binding upon this court. Morrison v. Labor & Indus. Relations Comm'n, 23 S.W.3d 902, 906 (Mo. App. W.D. 2000). However, we grant no deference to the Commission's conclusions of law and its application of the law to the facts. Id. In evaluating Appellants' issues concerning evidence supporting the findings of the Commission, we engage in a two-step process.
"In the first step, the court examines the whole record, viewing the evidence and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the award, to determine if the record contains sufficient competent and substantial evidence to support the award. f not, the Commission's award must be reversed. If there is competent and substantial evidence supporting the award, the court moves to the second step, where it views the evidence in the light most favorable to the award, but must consider all evidence in the record, including that which opposes or is unfavorable to the award, take account of the overall effect of all of the evidence, and determine whether the award is against the overwhelming weight of the evidence."
Travelers Equities Sales, Inc. v. Div. of Employment Sec., 927
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