Opinion ID: 773006
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Borrowed Employee Test

Text: 43 ASL argues that the ALJ erred because he failed to employ the borrowed employee test, and that application of this test yields the conclusion that the union, not ASL, was Marinelli's employer. As the Board noted, the borrowed employee test has been used to determine which of two entities is responsible for a worker's disability benefits under the Act. Marinelli, 2000 WL 1133566, at  n.4. In applying the test, courts have considered a variety of factors with a view to determining whether the lending employer or the borrowing employer is the entity responsible for benefits. See Gaudet v. Exxon Corp., 562 F.2d 351, 355 (5th Cir. 1977). However, the question of who has control over the employee and the work he is performing, has been considered the central [factor]. Melancon v. Amoco Prod. Co., 834 F.2d 1238, 1244-45 (5th Cir. 1988); cf. White v. Bethlehem Steel Corp., 222 F.3d 146, 149 (4th Cir. 2000) (Ultimately, any particular factor only informs the primary inquiry - whether the borrowing employer has authoritative direction and control over a worker.). 44 The borrowed employee test has been adopted by several of our sister circuits as well as by the Board. See White, 222 F.3d at 149; Peter v. Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corp., 903 F.2d 935, 940-43 (3rd Cir. 1990); Gaudet, 562 F.2d at 356-57; Fitzgerald v. Stevedoring Servs. of Am., BRB No. 00-0724, 2001 WL 94757, at  (B.R.B. Jan. 31, 2001) (en banc). But see West v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 765 F.2d 526, 533 (5th Cir. 1985) (Tate, J., concurring in the judgment) (arguing that under plain language of §§ 904 and 905, the doctrine cannot apply where the lending employer has secured payment of the Act's benefits to its workers); Doucet v. Gulf Oil Corp., 783 F.2d 518, 522 (5th Cir. 1986) (If the question were open, we might agree with Judge Tate's concurring opinion in West.). We have heretofore neither adopted nor rejected this test and find it unnecessary to do so today. Although this test may apply in an appropriate case, it is inapplicable to the circumstances of this case for the same reason that the right to control the details of the work test and the Restatement (Second) of Agency test are inapplicable to this case: It emphasizes the control factor. 12