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Oliver v. Barrick Goldstrike Mines11/1/1995
w, every employer, within the provisions of NRS chapter 616, must "provide and secure" compensation for injured employees. NRS 616.270(1). In return for providing such compensation, employers enjoy the benefits of the exclusive remedy and immunity provisions under NRS 616.270(3) and NRS 616.370. These provisions grant an employer, including a principal contractor, 2 immunity from "other liability for recovery of damages or other compensation" for the personal injury of any employee arising out of employment. NRS 616.270(3).
A. The district court order granting summary judgment
In the district court, Oliver's only argument in opposition to Barrick's motion for summary judgment centered on the proper interpretation of NRS 616.085(1) read in conjunction with NRS 616.262. NRS 616.085(1) provides:
Except as otherwise provided in NRS 616.262, subcontractors, independent contractors and the employees of either shall be deemed to be employees of the principal contractor for the purposes of this chapter.
NRS 616.262 provides: 1.
[111 Nev. 1338, Page 1343]
A person is not an employer for the purposes of this chapter if: (a) He enters into a contract with another person or business which is an independent enterprise; and (b) He is not in the same trade, business, profession or occupation as the independent enterprise. 2. As used in this section, "independent enterprise" means a person who holds himself out as being engaged in a separate business and: (a) Holds a business or occupational license in his own name; or (b) Owns, rents or leases property used in furtherance of his business. 3. The provisions of this section do not apply to a principal contractor who is licensed pursuant to chapter 624 of NRS. 4. The administrator may adopt such regulations as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
Oliver contends that the two sections, read in combination, limit the application of NRS 616.085(1) to licensed contractors. Oliver thus concludes that since Barrick is not a principal contractor licensed pursuant to chapter 624 of NRS, Barrick has no immunity under the provisions of NRS chapter 616.
We agree with the district court that Oliver's interpretation of the combined effect of NRS 616.085 and NRS 616.262 is untenable. NRS 616.262(3) simply provides that the provisions of that section do not apply to licensed contractors. Thus, a principal contractor who is also a licensed contractor under chapter 624 is a statutory employer under the NIIA and entitled to immunity under the applicable statutory provisions. Moreover, an unlicensed principal contractor is also a "statutory employer" of an independent contractor and its employees under NRS 616.262 so long as it is in the "same trade, business, profession or occupation as the independent enterprise." 3 Oliver's initial argument overlooks subsections 1(a) and (b) of NRS 616.262
[111 Nev. 1338, Page 1344]
which state that a "person" 4 (Barrick) is not a statutory employer under the NIIA if the person enters into another contract with another business which is an independent enterprise and the person is not in the "same trade, business, profession or occupation as the independent enterprise." Clearly, Mountain States is an "independent enterprise" under the statutory definition. 5 Thus, as the district court correctly recognized, the only remaining issue is whether Barrick is in the "same trade, business, profession or occupation" as Mountain States. If the answer to this issue is in the negative, Barrick was not the statutory employer of Mountain States and Oliver and, therefore, would not be entitled to immunity. The district court f
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