 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Harris v. Rio Hotel & Casino6/21/2001
from suit by the other's employees, but their liability for providing workers' compensation coverage is clearly defined and limited in scope.
Tucker, having explained the test to be used in non-construction cases, then considered the test to be used in construction cases. NRS 616B.603(3) provides that the provisions of NRS 616B.603 do not apply to principal contractors licensed under NRS chapter 624. Based upon NRS 616B.603(3), and building upon our earlier decision in Oliver, we established the following test for determining immunity in construction cases:
" f the defendant in a construction case is not a principal contractor licensed pursuant to NRS chapter 624, or is not working pursuant to a construction agreement with such a licensed principal contractor, the Meers test must be applied to determine immunity. On the other hand, if the defendant in a construction case is a principal contractor licensed pursuant to NRS chapter 624, or is a licensed contractor working pursuant to a construction agreement with a licensed principal contractor, and the defendant is performing part of the construction work for which it is licensed when the injury occurs, that contractor is immune from further suit as a matter of law. No further factual analysis is necessary.*fn51"
Upon further reflection, we conclude that our articulation in Tucker of the test to be applied in construction cases is not as clear as we intended it to be. The test does not plainly encompass landowners who are not themselves contractors, but who hire licensed general contractors to construct improvements. Here, because the Rio is not a principal contractor licensed pursuant to NRS chapter 624, and is not a licensed contractor working pursuant to a construction agreement with such a licensed principal contractor, Tucker would seem to require application of the Meers test to determine immunity.
We conclude, however, that broad application of the Meers test is not mandated by the NIIA in construction cases -- despite the fact that NRS 616B.603(3) does not expressly exempt landowners that retain licensed principal contractors. We therefore modify Tucker to clarify that if the defendant in a construction case is a landowner that has contracted with a licensed principal contractor, the landowner is immune from suit as a matter of law for industrial injuries sustained during performance of the construction contract.
Strong policy considerations support this conclusion. First, workers' compensation coverage "should equally protect the property owner who, in hiring the contractor, is indirectly paying for the cost of such coverage, which the contractor presumably has calculated into the contract price." Since the principal contractor is required by the NIIA to ensure that all the construction workers have workers' compensation coverage, requiring the property owner to duplicate that coverage or risk suit in case of injuries is unnecessary as well as unreasonably costly. Further, failure to immunize property owners from suits by workers injured while constructing property improvements places commercial property owners at greater monetary risk than if their own employees performed the tasks. Finally, property owners without construction expertise should be encouraged to retain qualified general contractors who are "in a better position to reduce the risks of injury" because they have "more knowledge and expertise . . . with respect to the dangers that normally arise during the course of the contractor's normal work routine."
In addition, this interpretation of the NIIA comports with the overall purpose of the Act —- to ensure compensation for injured employees at reasonable cost to employers,
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Nevada Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|