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Oliver v. Barrick Goldstrike Mines11/1/1995
e . . . operation of the business . . . of the employer [county]." NRS 616.120. Moreover, in giving a broad reading to the "trade" language of NRS 616.120, the cited case did so within the context of NRS 616.060(1), 7 which determines whether employees are subject to the provisions of NRS chapter 616. 8 In the instant case, Oliver was the employee of Mountain States and his employment clearly qualified him for coverage under the NIIA. 9
[111 Nev. 1338, Page 1348]
The appropriate definition of "same trade" to use in the present case is clearly stated in Meers v. Haughton Elevator, 101 Nev. 283, 285, 701 P.2d 1006, 1007 (1985). Meers, an employee of Central Telephone Company ("Centel"), was injured in an elevator accident. The elevator was maintained by the Haughton Elevator Company ("Haughton") pursuant to a contract with Centel. Meers sued Haughton for personal injuries arising out of the accident and Haughton claimed immunity from suit under the NIIA. This court stated that the primary issue for determination was whether Centel was the "statutory employer" of Haughton. If that issue had been decided in the affirmative, Haughton would have been immune to liability for Meers' injuries. In reaching the conclusion that Centel was not the "statutory employer" of Haughton, this court specifically rejected the "same trade" definition Barrick now offers and stated that:
The type of work performed by the sub-contractor or independent contractor will determine whether the employer is the statutory employer: he test is not one of whether the subcontractor's activity is useful, necessary, or even absolutely indispensable to the statutory employer's business, since, after all, this could be said of practically any repair, construction or transportation service. The test (except in cases where the work is obviously a subcontracted fraction of a main contract) is whether that indispensable activity is, in that business, normally carried on through employees rather than independent contractors.
[111 Nev. 1338, Page 1349]
Id. at 286, 701 P.2d at 1007 (quoting Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc. v. McReynolds, 224 S.E.2d 323 (Va. 1976)). Under the above test, this court concluded that the specialized maintenance performed by Haughton was not part of Centel's normal business and therefore, Haughton could not claim immunity under the NIIA. Other rulings by this court support the Meers analysis. See Willison v. Texaco Ref. & Mktg., 109 Nev. 141, 848 P.2d 1062 (1993); SIIS v. E G & C Special Projects, 103 Nev. 289, 738 P.2d 1311 (1987). In view of the case law and relevant statutory provisions, we conclude that the "same trade" language in NRS 616.262 refers to the "normal work" test stated in Meers and that NRS 616.262 merely recognizes the known distinction between construction cases (licensed contractors under chapter 624) and non-construction cases. If a principal contractor is a licensed contractor pursuant to chapter 624, the principal contractor will be the "statutory employer" of the independent contractors (or subcontractors) and their employees. If a principal contractor is not a licensed contractor, it will be the statutory employer only if it can show that it is in the "same trade" under the Meers test. If the legislature had disagreed with the prior precedents of this court, it clearly could have nullified them by statute. 10 Considering the plain language of NRS 616.120 and the legislative history of NRS 616.262, we conclude that the legislature did not intend for the "trade" definition of NRS 616.120 to apply in determining whether Barrick was the statutory employer of Mountain States and Oliver. To hold otherwise would not only overrule sound precedent o
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