Opinion ID: 2679984
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Bookkeeper

Text: [¶18] The Commission determined that Sinclair failed to satisfy both parts A and B of the ABC test with respect to the bookkeeper. Sinclair does not dispute that its office, where the bookkeeper performed her services, is the company’s place of business. See 26 M.R.S. § 1043(11)(E)(2). Instead, Sinclair contends that the bookkeeper was free from Sinclair’s direction and control over the performance of her services, and that the bookkeeping services were outside Sinclair’s usual course of business. See id. § 1043(11)(E)(1)-(2). [¶19] With respect to its course of business, Sinclair argues that “[t]he fact that balancing a company’s books and paying its bills is necessary to continue 11 operating does not transform a construction contracting business into a bookkeeping or accounting firm.” However, the law does not require an employee’s service to transform the company into a provider of that service. Cf. McPherson Timberlands, Inc., 1998 ME 177, ¶¶ 9-15, 714 A.2d 818. Rather, part B of the ABC test requires the employer to demonstrate that an individual provides a service that is not an “integral part” of the company’s business, but is “merely incidental” to it. Id. ¶¶ 9-10 (quotation marks omitted); Androscoggin Jr., Inc., 137 Me. at 164, 16 A.2d 252 (concluding that repair and maintenance of buildings were within the usual course of a landlord’s business). There is substantial evidence in the record supporting the Commission’s finding that the bookkeeper’s services—answering phones, taking messages, and handling the company’s billing and payments—were an integral part of Sinclair’s business. See Gerber Dental Ctr. Corp. v. Me. Unemployment Ins. Comm’n, 531 A.2d 1262, 1264 (Me. 1987) (holding that dentists’ services were within the course of the company’s business as a “full range” dental service provider). Therefore, we conclude that the Commission did not err with respect to part B of the test, and we affirm its decision as to the bookkeeper. Because we will affirm the Commission’s decision regarding an employee if the employer failed to satisfy any one prong of the ABC test, we do not need to reach the issue of whether the bookkeeper was 12 free from Sinclair’s direction or control. See Hasco Mfg. Co., 158 Me. at 415, 185 A.2d 442.