Injured on the Job – Are you an Employee or a Borrowed Servant?

In Pennsylvania, the law requires that when a person is injured while in the scope of his employment, the sole and exclusive means of recovery for that injury is through Worker’s Compensation. This means that a person injured on the job as a result of the negligence of his employer cannot bring a personal injury claim against his employer, but can only recover through the Worker’s Compensation statute. But, if an employee is placed at a job by a temp agency and injured on the job due to the negligence of someone working for the business where he has been placed, can the employee recover for his damages against the business? The answer depends on who is considered the person’s employer in the eyes of the law.

Who is the employer of a temp injured on the job?

One would assume the answer is that the injured employee is working for the temp agency. The temp agency pays his worker’s compensation insurance, pays his salary, and places him at different jobs. You would think the temp agency is his employer, and thus, he can recover damages from the business whose negligence caused his injuries. However, in Pennsylvania, whether or not a business that is assigned workers from a temp agency is considered an employer is determined on a case-by-case basis. Though payment of salary and payment of worker’s compensation benefits are factors to be considered, they are only a part of the equation.

  Case-by-case basis

Among the many factors that Courts apply in determining the employer of someone injured on the job, are whether a person had to have any specialized training, and if so, who was it that trained him – the temp agency or the business he was sent to; who controls the work that is going to be done and the manner in which it is going to be done; who chooses where the employee is assigned; and who sets the employee’s hours. See: Accountemps v. Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Bd. (Myers), 120 Pa. Commw. 489 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1988); Daily Express, Inc. v. Workmen’s Compensation Appeal Board, 46 Pa. Commw. 434 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1979); and Jfc Temps v. Workmen’s Comp. Appeal Bd. (lindsay), 545 Pa. 149 (Pa. 1996).

Because Courts look at this issue on a case-by-case basis, and each case has its own specific circumstances and facts, it becomes very important, if a person is injured while on the job, to discuss his or her specific case with an attorney who can explain the issues and ensure the injured person is aware of his or her rights.