Opinion ID: 1900750
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: question #2: if the catalog merchants and agents are employees of sears and ward, are workers performing services for such merchants and agents necessarily also statutory employees of sears and ward?

Text: The trial courts relied on Price County Telephone Co. v. Lord, 47 Wis.2d 704, 177 N.W.2d 904 (1970). In that case, Price County Telephone Company contracted with Virgil Lord, d/b/a Prentice Switching Company to operate a manual telephone exchange. Prentice employed several telephone operators and other personnel. The question on appeal was whether Lord or Price County Telephone Company was liable for contributions to the unemployment compensation fund as the statutory employer. The court stated in that case: If it can be conceded that Lord was a statutory employee of Price County Telephone Company, that does not necessarily mean that Price County is responsible to the instant claimants. There is nothing in the statute to preclude one from being an employee for purposes of his own unemployment compensation protection and at the same time being an employer subject to the contribution provision of the chapter for the protection of those who work for him. Under this statute these two conditions are not mutually exclusive. If it were impossible to be both at the same time then the phrase `not an employer subject to the contribution provisions of this chapter' in par. (a) would be superfluous. Id. at 716. In Price County Telephone Company, the court distinguished National G. L. Ins. Co. v. Industrial Comm., supra. That case involved a coverage question of whether a secretary in the office of a general agent or an insurance company was an employee of the insurance company so as to be eligible for unemployment compensation. In its analysis, the court concluded that she was an employee, if the agents were employees. However, in that case there was no claim that the agents were employers subject to the contribution provisions of ch. 108. [10] We decline to overrule the holding of Price County Telephone. By the Court.  Judgments affirmed.