Opinion ID: 1799100
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Is Russell an Employee of PHS?

Text: ¶ 18. Russell challenges the circuit court's ruling that she was a dual employee of Valley and PHS. At her deposition, Russell stated that she had been an employee of Valley Foods for almost eight years. Dr. Orr argues that a host of undisputed facts establishes that Russell was also an employee of PHS. Primarily, Dr. Orr claims PHS had the power to fire, reassign, and control the activities of Valley employees. Also, Dr. Orr presented evidence which showed that Russell's workers' compensation documentation listed PHS, not Valley, as her employer. ¶ 19. Russell argues that the contract which governs the relationship between Valley and PHS expressly states that Valley employees are not employees of PHS. In the April, 1989, contract which identifies Valley as OPERATOR and PHS as CLIENT, paragraph 21 states the following: It is understood that this agreement does not constitute the OPERATOR as an agent or legal representative of the CLIENT for any purpose whatsoever, and the OPERATOR is not granted any right or authority to assume or to create any obligations or responsibility, express or implied, in behalf of or in the name of the CLIENT, or to bind the CLIENT in any manner or for anything whatsoever. The employees of the operation shall be and remain the employees of the OPERATOR and shall have no claim upon the CLIENT for wages or benefits. The OPERATOR, in all dealings with the third parties, shall act in its own name and in its own behalf. ¶ 20. Dr. Orr argues the contractual language of paragraph 21 has limited utility due to this Court's holding in Northern Electric, 660 So.2d 1278, which recognized that an employer/employee should not be determined by exclusive reliance on what may be written on paper. In that case, an employee of Kelly Services, a temporary employment agency, was injured while working under a service agreement with Northern Electric Company. The employee, Phillips, sought to bring a common law action but was denied and relief was confined to the workers' compensation system. ¶ 21. Dr. Orr claims that Russell's common law claim should be denied for reasons similar to those expressed in Northern Electric; he maintains that everyday operations and real world right to control are the most important factors used to determine employer/employee relationship. See id. at 1282. However, Dr. Orr's interpretation of this Court's holding in Northern Electric is far-reaching. That case can be distinguished from the instant case because Kelly Services clearly intended its employees to be controlled and directed by the Northern Electric Company. The back side of the service agreement stated that Kelly Services employees were under the direction and control of the Northern Electric Company. In the present case, the contractual language of paragraph 21 makes clear that the intentions of Valley were completely different than those expressed by Kelly Services. ¶ 22. Dr. Orr offers the testimony of Ensley Howell, Director of Food Services at Valley, as proof that PHS was an employer of Russell regardless of what was written in the contract. Howell stated that Russell had been employed by Valley and worked at the hospital for approximately four years and two months at the time of the accident. While Howell indicated that PHS administrators maintained power to reassign or terminate Valley employees for unsatisfactory performance, she also stated that Russell was a Valley employee with duties at PHS. ¶ 23. The lower court found that Russell was a joint or dual employee of PHS and Valley based on evidence presented by Dr. Orr that PHS had the right to control Russell. The court found the affidavit of Ensley Howell particularly persuasive. As for Russell's contention that the Valley/PHS contract discredits any conclusion that Russell is an employee of PHS, the trial court thought otherwise. This contract does not refute Dr. Orr's evidence that Pontotoc Hospital had power to fire and reassign Ms. Russell and the other evidence relating to Pontotoc Hospital's right to control Ms. Russell. Thus, the trial court found that Russell was a dual employee mainly because Ensley Howell indicated in her affidavit that PHS had the right to reassign or terminate Valley employees. However, a careful reading of Howell's affidavit suggests that PHS may not have had unconditional right to reassign or terminate Valley employees. The Administrators of the Hospital were in overall control of the Hospital, and particularly the Food Service Department. The Administrator could require reassignment or termination of employees of Valley where the conduct or performance was unsatisfactory or subject to complaint. Russell argues that Howell's affidavit does not support the conclusion that PHS could fire Valley employees, and that [q]uite the contrary, the statements show that Valley did its own hiring, firing, and reassigning. ¶ 24. In the end, the impact of Ensley Howell's comments are best left for a jury to determine. Also, reasonable jurors may disagree as to whether Russell, a cook who worked in one facility, was a dual employee of PHS and Valley. Simply stated, the rule is that dual employment exists ... when an employee is engaged in the service of two (2) employers in relation to the same act ... Ray v. Babcock & Wilcox Co., Inc., 388 So.2d 166, 167 (Miss. 1980). In that case, Ray was an electrician who did electrical work for the general contractor and, on occasion, did electrical work for the subcontractor. Relying on the principle that an employee may be employed by more than one employer while doing the same work, the Court found that Ray was a dual employee of the general contractor and subcontractor. Id. at 168; Boyd v. Crosby Lumber & Mfg. Co., 250 Miss. 433, 166 So.2d 106 (1964). ¶ 25. Whether Russell's duties at the hospital were so directed by PHS as to classify her as an employee, dual or otherwise, is a triable issue because the clear intention of the Valley/PHS contract was to preclude Valley employees from being considered employees of PHS. Whether the contract refutes Dr. Orr's evidence that PHS had control over Russell raises a genuine issue of material fact. Summary judgment is not permitted in such cases. A motion for summary judgment lies only when there is no genuine issue of material fact; summary judgment is not a substitute for the trial of disputed fact issues. Accordingly, the court cannot try issues of fact on a Rule 56 motion; it may only determine whether there are issues to be tried. Given this function, the court examines the affidavits or other evidence introduced on a Rule 56 motion simply to determine whether a triable issue exists, rather than for the purpose of resolving that issue. Miss.R. Civ. P. 56 cmt.