An Act To Reduce Administrative Burdens of Forest Products Harvesters
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1413
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: ARATA, BRADSTREET, MILLETT, O'NEIL
Amends: 39-A MRSA §401

Legislative Document
No. 1413
H.P. 1026
House of Representatives, March 26, 2019
An Act To Reduce Administrative Burdens of Forest Products 
Harvesters
Reference to the Committee on Labor and Housing suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative ARATA of New Gloucester.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BRADSTREET of Vassalboro, MILLETT of Waterford, 
O'NEIL of Saco.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  39-A MRSA §401, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2011, c. 643, §12 and 
affected by §14, is further amended to read:
4.  Liability of landowner.  A landowner subject to this Act who contracts to have 
wood harvested from the landowner's property by a contractor who, as an employer, is 
subject to this Act and who has not complied with the provisions of this section and who 
does not comply with the provisions of this section prior to the date of an injury or death 
for which a claim is made is liable to pay to any person employed by the contractor in the 
execution of the work any compensation under this Act that the landowner would have 
been liable to pay if that person had been immediately employed by the landowner.
If a landowner applies for and receives a predetermination under section 105 of the 
independent status of a contractor that harvests forest products and requests and receives 
a certificate of independent status certifying that the contractor harvests in a manner that 
would not make the contractor an employee of the landowner, that certificate of 
independent status remains valid unless the manner in which the contractor harvests 
changes.  A landowner is not liable for compensation if at the time the landowner enters 
into the contract with the contractor, the landowner applies for and receives a 
predetermination of the independent status of the contractor as set forth in section 105, 
the landowner requests and receives a certificate of independent status, issued by the 
board on an annual basis to a contractor, certifying that the contractor harvests forest 
products in a manner that would not make the contractor an employee of the landowner 
or the landowner requests and receives a certificate of insurance, issued by the 
contractor's insurance carrier, certifying that the contractor has obtained the required 
coverage and indicating the effective dates of the policy, and if the landowner requests 
and receives at least annually similar certificates indicating continuing coverage during 
the performance of the work.  A landowner who receives a predetermination of the 
contractor's status as independent contractor or a certificate of independent status is only 
relieved of liability under this paragraph only if the contract for wood harvesting 
expressly states that the independent contractor will not hire any employees to assist in 
the wood harvesting without first providing the required certificate of insurance to the 
landowner.
Notwithstanding section 105, subsection 1, paragraph A, a predetermination under 
section 105 related only to a person engaged in harvesting forest products is a conclusive 
presumption that the determination is correct and section 105, subsection 2 does not apply 
to that determination.  Each party involved in or affected by the predetermination must be 
provided information on the workers' compensation laws and the effect of independent 
contractor status in relation to those laws.  A predetermination under section 105 related 
to a person engaged in harvesting forest products is effective for one calendar year or the 
duration of the contract, whichever is shorter.
A landowner required to pay compensation under this section is entitled to be 
indemnified by the contractor and may recover the amount paid in an action against that 
contractor.  A landowner may demand that the contractor enter into a written agreement 
to reimburse the landowner for any loss incurred under this section due to a claim filed 
for compensation and other benefits.  The employee is not entitled to recover at common 
law against the landowner for any damages arising from such injury if the employee takes 
compensation from that landowner.
Landowners willfully acting to circumvent the provisions of this section by using 
coercion, intimidation, deceit or other means to encourage persons who would otherwise 
be considered employees within the meaning of this Act to pose as contractors for the 
purpose of evading this section are liable subject to the provisions of section 324, 
subsection 3.  Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit an employee from 
becoming a contractor subject to the provisions of section 102, subsection 13-A.
SUMMARY
This bill provides that, when the Workers' Compensation Board issues a certificate of 
independent status certifying that a contractor that harvests forest products does so in a 
manner that would not make the contractor an employee of a landowner, that certificate 
of independent status remains valid unless the manner in which the contractor harvests 
changes.