Opinion ID: 2071703
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Measurers

Text: Kenneth W. Weiss testified that from January to June 1991, he worked as a measurer, doing jobs subcontracted to him by GW Carpet Service (GW), a sole proprietorship of his father, Gary Weiss. The business was operated out of the elder Weiss' home. Several secretaries were employed by GW, but the measurers were subcontractors. Weiss estimated that 10% of the jobs he did for GW were for Carpetland and the remainder were for other floor-covering businesses. Each morning, he would call GW to pick up job assignments for that day. He was given the customers' names, addresses, and telephone numbers, the account or store that had requested each measuring job, and perhaps the name of the salesperson. Weiss would contact the customers to arrange a time to make the measurements. After making the measurements, Weiss returned to his personal office in his home to make a diagram of each job. Some accounts supplied their own forms; Carpetland did not. In addition to showing the measured area to scale, the diagram noted any additional information that might be needed to calculate the cost of the floor covering or installation, such as heavy furniture that would have to be moved, or old carpeting to be taken up. Weiss placed the forms in his mailbox, where they were picked up by a messenger service for GW. GW then had the reports delivered to the stores that had ordered the work. Weiss rarely went into a Carpetland store. Occasionally, he would do so if a customer had a special need such as a rush order that he might decide to hand-deliver as a service to the customer. No one from Carpetland checked his work. If a mistake occurred, he remeasured. He would be paid for the additional work if the mistake turned out not to be his responsibility. If he had made the mistake, he would not be paid for the second trip. Weiss and other measurers charged GW on a per-job basis, with additional charges for distance and particularly large, jobs. He would submit daily and weekly tallies of jobs done. His check from GW was delivered each week by the same messenger who picked up his measurements. GW, in turn, billed Carpetland and the other stores. GW negotiated its fees with each of the stores and the rates were slightly different as a result. Weiss was trained on the job by his father. Later, Weiss trained other measurers. Carpetland was not involved in any of this training. Weiss testified that he considered himself to be self-employed and that he filed a Schedule C federal tax return in 1991. GW was his only customer and he earned $7.50 per job, unless there was some adjustment for distance or size of the job. On average, Weiss would do 17 jobs per day, six days per week. He did not have his own business cards and did not do any advertising. GW had business cards and called on stores to solicit business. When GW went out of business in June 1991, the younger Weiss and two other measurers each took over a portion of the business. Each of them paid Gary Weiss a commission on the accounts that they took over from GW. Several of the Carpetland stores became Weiss' accounts under this arrangement.