Opinion ID: 162081
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Appraiser-Trainee Position

Text: 89 Appellants argue that they were under no duty to transfer Bristol to the job of appraiser-trainee because the County was not Bristol's employer. In addition, they argue that the trial court erred by denying their Rule 50 motion that Bristol was not qualified for this position as a matter of law. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the district court's ruling on the qualification issue, but reverse and remand for a jury determination as to whether the County is properly considered to be Bristol's employer. 90
91 Under the ADA, the definition of employer is substantially similar to that under Title VII, and this court has applied reasoning from Title VII cases to determine whether an entity is a plaintiff's employer in the context of the ADA. See Butler v. City of Prairie Village, 172 F.3d 736, 744 (10th Cir.1999). Acknowledging [that a court] must consider many factors and an employee can have more than one employer for Title VII purposes, the main focus of the court's inquiry is the employer's right to control the means and manner of the worker's performance. Atchley v. Nordam Group, Inc., 180 F.3d 1143, 1153 (10th Cir.1999) (quotation marks omitted) (emphasis in original). The other factors used to determine whether an entity is a plaintiff's employer include: 92 (1) the kind of occupation at issue, with reference to whether the work usually is done under the direction of a supervisor or is done by a specialist without supervision; (2) the skill required in the particular occupation; (3) whether the employer or the employee furnishes the equipment used and the place of work; (4) the length of time the individual has worked; (5) the method of payment, whether by time or by job; (6) the manner in which the work relationship is terminated; (7) whether annual leave is afforded; (8) whether the work is an integral part of the business of the employer; (9) whether the worker accumulates retirement benefits; (10) whether the employer pays social security taxes; and (11) the intention of the parties. No single factor is conclusive. Rather, the courts are to look at the totality of circumstances surrounding the working relationship between the parties. 93 Lambertsen v. Utah Dep't of Corr., 79 F.3d 1024, 1028 (10th Cir.1996) (footnote omitted). 6 94 The district court granted Bristol's Rule 50 motion, ruling that the County was Bristol's employer. The district court appears to have approached the issue as a matter of law, and did not set forth any application of the Lambertsen factors. Rather, after hearing argument from counsel, the court simply stated that the Court will rule as a matter of law and grant plaintiff's motion that both the sheriff and the board of county commissioners are the employers. (Tr. 278.) 95 To the extent that the district court analyzed the question of the County's status as an employer as a legal issue, it misconstrued the nature of the inquiry. In this circuit, determining whether an entity qualifies as an employer is a fact issue for the jury. See Zinn v. McKune, 143 F.3d 1353, 1357 (10th Cir.1998) (finding evidence insufficient for Lambertsen analysis to reach jury in Title VII case); id. at 1362 (Briscoe, J., concurring) (noting that whether [defendant] was [plaintiff's] employer is a question of fact). Cf. Marvel v. United States, 719 F.2d 1507, 1515 (10th Cir.1983) (recognizing that the determination of whether an individual is an employee is a question of fact). But cf. Waxman v. Luna, 881 F.2d 237, 240 (6th Cir.1989) (analyzing whether person is employee under ERISA as question of law); Penn v. Howe-Baker Engineers, Inc., 898 F.2d 1096, 1101 n. 5 (5th Cir.1990) (same); Holt v. Winpisinger, 811 F.2d 1532, 1536 (D.C.Cir.1987) (same). 96 To the extent that the district court couched its ruling as a matter of law based on an implicit conclusion that no reasonable jury could deny the County's employer status, see Holter v. Moore and Co., 702 F.2d 854, 855 (10th Cir.1983) (recognizing that, although employment relationship is question of fact, the sufficiency of the evidence to create an issue of fact for the jury is solely a question of law); see also Glynn v. Roy Al Boat Mgmt. Corp., 57 F.3d 1495, 1498 (9th Cir. 1995) (We have long held that whether an employer/employee relationship exists is usually a question of fact for the jury, so long as there is an evidentiary basis for its consideration.), that conclusion was erroneous. 97 From Lambertsen 's list, factors 3 and 5 through 11 appear to be relevant to whether the County was Bristol's employer. However, we must begin with the main focus of the inquiry: Did the County control the means and manner by which Bristol did his work as jailer? The answer is clearly in the negative; the Sheriff controlled how Bristol did his job day-to-day, while the County had no role in those decisions. And even though the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Department may have voluntarily chosen to have the County Personnel Review Board review all terminations of the Sheriff's employees, under Colorado law the Sheriff could not have limited his own discretion to hire or fire Bristol. See Seeley v. Board of County Comm'rs, 791 P.2d 696, 700 (Colo.1990) (en banc) (holding that county sheriffs alone have the power to hire and fire their employees, and that a sheriff does not even possess the statutory authority to limit his power to discharge [an employee] at his pleasure). This would suggest that factor six — the manner in which the employment relationship is terminated — also weighs against viewing the County as Bristol's employer. 98 However, a reasonable jury could conclude that most of the remaining factors weigh in favor of a finding that the County was Bristol's employer. The County provided the jail and the equipment used in the jail (factor 3). The County Commissioner signed Bristol's checks (factor 5). Bristol received leave on the same basis as other County employees, and it was administered by the County human resource director (factor 7). The County paid for all benefits received by employees of the Sheriff's office. Typically, this includes paying retirement benefits and social security taxes (factors 9 & 10). Further, the County paid Bristol's disability benefits. 99 It is less clear what the County's and Bristol's intentions were regarding their employment relationship (factor 8), and the jury would be within reason to accept or reject the notion that Bristol's work was integral to the business of the County (factor 11). On one hand, the jury could conclude that, insofar as Bristol was a part of County law enforcement by virtue of working in the Sheriff's Office as a jailer, he did work integral to the County's business of enforcing the law and keeping good order. On the other hand, the jury could focus on the distinct identities of the Sheriff and the County Board, and conclude that the Sheriff's duties are no more integral to the business of the Board than the duties of the executive are integral to the business of the legislature. 100 The employment relationship of Bristol and the County is a close question, well within the jury's province. 7 While the County did not oversee Bristol's work day-to-day, it did have substantial control over many of the other aspects of the terms and conditions of his employment as jailer. It was error for the district court to preclude the jury from determining whether the County can properly be considered Bristol's employer. We therefore vacate and remand the district court's grant of Bristol's Rule 50 motion on this issue. 101
102 Appellants assert that the district court erred in denying their motion under Rule 50 that Bristol was not qualified for the position of appraiser-trainee as a matter of law. We note, however, that the County reviewed Bristol's resume and decided to interview him. This indicates that the County believed that he was qualified enough to merit an interview. In addition, Dr. Bourn testified at length as to why Bristol was qualified for the position of appraiser-trainee. 8 Bristol himself also testified as to why he believed he was qualified for the position. The jury heard testimony about the job description, which was entered as plaintiff's exhibit # 9, and why Bristol would or would not fit that description. On appeal, we review the district court's denial of a Rule 50 motion by examining the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, in this case Bristol. In that light, there was clearly enough evidence to support the court's denial of Appellants' motion and to send the issue to the jury. We thus affirm the district court's decision.