Opinion ID: 1925364
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Viktor

Text: Viktor provides limousine services pursuant to a license issued by the Public Utility Commission (PUC). Viktor engages Drivers to drive its limousines. The Drivers come to Viktor seeking work, and Viktor then performs a background check, as required by the PUC. Viktor describes itself as a clearinghouse. RR at 36a. Viktor owns and insures the vehicles, pursuant to PUC requirements. Clients contact Viktor to obtain services, and Viktor's dispatcher then calls Drivers from a list that it maintains to determine availability. Both the Drivers and Viktor obtain clients. Drivers for Viktor do not advertise their services; rather, they solicit business through use of business cards. A Driver who brings in his or her own client is paid a larger percentage of the resulting fee. RR at 35a. Drivers are paid a percentage of the fee charged to the client, and Viktor and Drivers determine these fees annually. Clients pay for gasoline, tolls, and parking fees. Viktor does not reimburse Drivers for expenses. Drivers pay for their own business cards, cell phones, advertising, clothing, home phones, and home offices, in the event that they operate an office from their home. If a Driver accepts an assignment from Victor that he or she cannot perform, Driver may chose a substitute to fulfill the assignment, and Driver is then obligated to pay that substitute on his or her own. RR at 36a, 38a. Additionally, Drivers are responsible for any damages done to the vehicles they drive, over and above normal maintenance. In the event of an accident, Drivers must pay the $1,000.00 deductible, as well as pay for necessary repairs that are not reimbursed by insurance. RR at 39a. Drivers sign an agreement with Viktor on an annual basis and negotiate their rate of pay when the agreement is executed. However, Drivers may request to renegotiate these terms prior to the annual renewal date of the agreement. Drivers are paid per job, and they decide themselves when to turn their paperwork into Viktor. Some Drivers choose to turn their paper-work in once a month, and others submit it once a week. RR at 33a. Drivers are paid within one week of submitting that paperwork to Viktor. If Drivers obtain the client, they receive a larger percentage of the total fee. Drivers can accept or reject jobs without repercussions. Viktor does not train or supervise Drivers. Final Decision and Order of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, July 22, 2003, Docket No. 98-R-0079-1 at 2-5 (Final Decision). [3] A Driver who accepts an assignment is provided with the name and telephone number of the client, along with the date and time of the job, and then contacts the client directly to finish the arrangements. Clients determine the time and place of services. Viktor does not give Drivers directions or dictate routes of travel. After the job is complete, Drivers submit a trip ticket. Id. A Driver who cannot perform a job that he or she has accepted is obligated to find a replacement driver and must pay the replacement driver directly. Drivers can hire assistants at their own expense. If a client pays a Driver in cash, that Driver keeps his or her portion of the fee and turns the balance over to Viktor. Drivers are free to offer their services to others. If a client does not pay his or her bill, Drivers are not paid. Viktor treats Drivers as independent contractors. Id. The agreement is a standard form Independent Contractor Agreement that is supplied to Viktor by the National Limousine Association. RR at 33a. At the hearing, Viktor testified that it does not hear from Driver after a job is complete unless it has another assignment for Driver that Driver chooses to accept. The Department found that Viktor did not meet the second criterion of Section 753( l ) (2)(B) because there was no evidence that Drivers were engaged in an independent trade, occupation, or business. Accordingly, Drivers did not have a proprietary interest in a business. Further, the Department found that the record did not support a finding that Drivers alone suffer a risk of loss if expenses exceed income since they do not own, maintain or insure the vehicles used to provide limousine services. Nominal expenses ... do not constitute risk of loss. Final Decision at 9. The Commonwealth Court reversed, finding that the reasoning of the Department was flawed. Viktor Commonwealth Court Opinion at 7. The court determined that a proprietary risk of financial loss, while suggestive of independent contractor status, is not a necessary element of the statutory standard. Similarly, the Commonwealth Court held that: ownership of all assets necessary to perform the service for which the customer pays, while suggestive of independent contractor status, is not a necessary part of the standard established by this court. A surgeon may need the facilities of an operating room and life support equipment to treat his patients, but that does not necessarily make him an employee of the hospital which owns them. Viktor Commonwealth Court Opinion at 7, 2004 WL 2598999 at .