Opinion ID: 2639050
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Public Employee Status Under the TCA

Text: {8} Liability of public employees acting within their scope of duty is governed by the TCA, NMSA 1978, §§ 41-4-1 to -27 (1976, as amended through 2003). The TCA delimits the scope of liability for government entities and their employees by: (1) retaining immunity for torts not waived by the TCA, see Section 41-4-2(A) (1976); and (2) waiving immunity and recognizing liability, subject to certain protections, for employees acting within their scope of duty, see § 41-4-4 (1996). The TCA specifically provides that it is the exclusive remedy ... for any tort for which immunity has been waived. See § 41-4-17(A) (1982). The TCA enumerates who qualifies as a public employee, and excludes most categories of independent contractors. Section 41-4-3(F)(3) (1995) specifically defines public employee as persons acting on behalf or in service of a governmental entity in any official capacity, whether with or without compensation. Therefore, the TCA explicitly contemplates that volunteers acting on behalf of the government may become public employees, thereby entitled to the protections of the TCA and subject to reliability of the same. {9} We are struck by the express declaration of legislative intent in including volunteers acting on behalf of a governmental entity within the purview of the TCA. See § 41-4-3(F)(3). The legislature made an express choice to include volunteers in the TCA, presumably in recognition of the important contribution volunteers can provide through government service. In so designating uncompensated persons working on behalf of the government, the legislature took action to protect both the volunteer and the public. The law protects the volunteer by providing immunity for an act not included within the TCA, and by affording the volunteer indemnification and a defense when immunity has been waived. See § 41-4-4. Either way, the TCA treats the volunteer the same as any other employee, thereby encouraging volunteer participation in government. The TCA also protects the public by ensuring that government will be financially accountable when volunteers working within their scope of duty commit certain torts and injure innocent members of the public. Mindful of these purposes to protect both the volunteer and the public, we interpret the TCA so as to give life to legislative intent. {10} Despite taking a contrary position in his original pleadings, Plaintiff now contends that Defendant was an independent contractor, not a public employee, when the incident occurred. If Defendant was an independent contractor, he would not fall within the purview of the TCA. Potentially, this determination could render Defendant personally liable for the damages resulting from the incident, because the TCA two-year statute of limitations and the provisions for indemnification under the TCA would not apply. {11} New Mexico courts have employed an agency analysis to determine whether an individual is acting as an independent contractor or as an employee. In Harger v. Structural Services, Inc., 121 N.M. 657, 664, 916 P.2d 1324, 1331 (1996), we adopted the Restatement (Second) of Agency § 220 (1958) to identify an independent contractor for purposes of workers' compensation. Under an agency analysis, the principal's right to control the individual performing the work often distinguishes an employee from an independent contractor. See, e.g., Harger, 121 N.M. at 663, 916 P.2d at 1330; Armijo v. Dep't of Health & Env't, 108 N.M. 616, 620, 775 P.2d 1333, 1337 (Ct. App.1989) (applying the agency right to control test to a TCA claim). {12} A right to control analysis focuses on whether the principal exercised sufficient control over the agent to hold the principal liable for the acts of the agent. With the right of control, an employer-employee relationship usually exists. Harger, 121 N.M. at 667, 916 P.2d at 1334. However, the right to control approach may not always be the most appropriate test, particularly for a professional. In a case concerning whether a hospital was bound by the acts of an emergency room physician, the court observed, [t]he use of the right to control test in determining whether a professional is an employee has been criticized. Houghland v. Grant, 119 N.M. 422, 426, 891 P.2d 563, 567 (Ct.App. 1995). {13} In the case before us, the Court of Appeals applied the right to control test by identifying an independent contractor as an individual whose overall work product, but not the details of work performance, is controlled. Celaya, 2003-NMCA-086, ¶ 7, 134 N.M. 19, 71 P.3d 1281. The court then relied upon the affidavits of Ray Gallagher, Bernalillo County Sheriff from 1991 to 1994, and his successor, Joe Bowdich, Bernalillo County Sheriff from 1995 to 2002, to determine whether there was a genuine issue of material fact concerning the Department's exercise of control over the details of Defendant's work performance. Id. ¶ 8. Sheriff Gallagher states in his affidavit that [t]he Sheriff's Department does not control the manner in which the details of [Defendant] Lin Hall's work is performed. Sheriff Bowdich's affidavit states the contrary, that he supervised Defendant's chaplain duties. As a result of this apparent conflict, the Court of Appeals concluded [t]here is a genuine issue of fact as to whether Defendant was an independent contractor because of the Department's lack of actual control over, or right to control, the details of his work. Id. ¶ 8. {14} We question this conclusion. Our case law indicates that the right to control analysis is more complex, and demands a more nuanced approach, than simply determining the degree of control over the details or methods of the work. Harger, 121 N.M. at 667, 916 P.2d at 1334. In Harger, this Court recognized the inconsistency that can result from applying the right to control test in its simplest form, when identifying an independent contractor for purposes of the Workers' Compensation Act. Id. at 663-64, 916 P.2d at 1330-31. To address this inconsistency, we adopted the approach taken in the Restatement (Second) of Agency § 220, which incorporates many factors into the calculus of employee versus independent contractor. Harger, 121 N.M. at 664, 916 P.2d at 1331. This approach is well-suited to a similar analysis under the TCA. {15} The Restatement suggests a number of considerations for determining whether an individual is acting as an employee or independent contractor, only one of which is the degree of control the principal exercises over the details of the agent's work. Restatement (Second) of Agency § 220(2)(a-j). Other considerations include: 1) the type of occupation and whether it is usually performed without supervision; 2) the skill required for the occupation; 3) whether the employer supplies the instrumentalities or tools for the person doing the work; 4) the length of time the person is employed; 5) the method of payment, whether by time or job; 6) whether the work is part of the regular business of the employer; 7) whether the parties intended to create an employment relationship; and 8) whether the principal is engaged in business. Id. Furthermore, a complete analysis may require an assessment not only of the relevant factors enumerated in the Restatement, but of the circumstances unique to the particular case. See Harger, 121 N.M. at 667, 916 P.2d at 1334. [N]o particular factor should receive greater weight than any other, except when the facts so indicate, nor should the existence or absence of a particular factor be decisive. Rather, the totality of the circumstances should be considered in determining whether the employer has the right to exercise essential control over the work or workers of a particular contractor. Id. {16} As a result, our determination must reach beyond the competing affidavits of Sheriffs Gallagher and Bowdich. The essential facts are not in dispute. At the time of the incident with Plaintiff, Defendant had been an official Department chaplain for eight years. As part of his official duties, Defendant was summoned to crime and accident scenes by the Department on an as-needed basis where he provided counseling and support services to civilians. He also maintained regularly scheduled duties, including giving invocations and benedictions at graduations, presiding over weddings, and providing spiritual counseling to deputies and their families at their request. {17} Thus, Defendant was not self-directed, as maintained by Plaintiff. To the contrary, he was assigned particular duties by the Department, to be performed at both specific, pre-arranged times and on an as-needed basis. The Department alerted Defendant when chaplain services were requested. In addition, a deputy requesting spiritual counseling could contact Defendant directly, and Defendant was authorized to assist stranded motorists he might encounter while in the Department vehicle. Other than those two situations, Defendant acted primarily at the Department's request. When Defendant saw the need for chaplain's services, he would alert the Department and request permission to proceed. And, at all times, the Department provided Defendant with the instrumentalities necessary to carry out the regular business of the employer, including a vehicle, pager, radio, and official departmental business cards. {18} Importantly, the degree of supervision the Department exercised over Defendant was proportionate to the professional nature of Defendant's position. Defendant is a career minister. Many of Defendant's official duties are focused upon providing spiritual counseling and support to accident survivors, crime victims, and departmental personnel and their families. These services, like those of the emergency room physician in Houghland, require special skills and a private setting; they are not amenable to detailed performance management. {19} We reject Plaintiff's assertion that the lack of detailed supervision of Defendant's duties renders him an independent contractor. Inherently, many jobs, particularly those at a professional level, must be performed with a certain degree of latitude and even independence. The Restatement contemplates just such an arrangement and its consequences. See Restatement (Second) of Agency § 220(2)(c) (calling for consideration of the kind of occupation, with reference to whether, in the locality, the work is usually done under the direction of the employer or by a specialist without supervision). {20} Applying all the factors in the Restatement to Defendant's job, and in light of the totality of the circumstances, we conclude that at the time of the incident Defendant undoubtedly was an employee of the Department. Considered in context, the Department exercised sufficient control over Defendant's activities in a manner consistent with the status of employee. As we stated earlier, the TCA specifically provides that volunteers can be employees. We discern no genuine issue of material fact on any of these questions. Thus, the district court properly entered summary judgment in Defendant's favor on this question. {21} Parenthetically, the Court of Appeals also looks to the apparent authority doctrine to distinguish employees from independent contractors and suggests the presence of an issue of fact on this question. Celaya, 2003-NMCA-086, ¶ 7, 134 N.M. 19, 71 P.3d 1281. We disagree. Apparent authority is created when a principal represents to a third party that another is his agent, and the third party believes in the agent's authority. See Restatement (Second) of Agency: Apparent Authority § 8 (1958). However, Plaintiff was not receiving services from the Department at the time of the incident; he was given no information on which to rely regarding Defendant's status as an agent of the Department. Plaintiff had no relationship with Defendant, other than as a result of this incident. Therefore, the apparent authority doctrine is no help to the legal analysis of this case and cannot create a genuine issue of material fact.