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Murray State College v. Akins6/19/1990
The opinion of the court was delivered by: HANSEN, Presiding Judge.
Geneva Elmore Akins (Claimant) filed her Form 3 with the Workers' Compensation Court listing her employer as "Foster Grandparent Program - Murray State College." She alleged that on December 1, 1986, she hurt her back while sitting in a straight chair holding a child in a body cast.
State Insurance Fund filed an answer with the Workers' Compensation Court on behalf of Delta Community Action and Murray State College (Respondents). That answer denied that Claimant was an employee on the date of her alleged injury and denied that she was covered under any workers' compensation policy issued by State Insurance Fund for its insureds. The answer also denied that Claimant received an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of any employment she might have had at the time with her alleged employer.
Subsequently, State Insurance Fund filed an amendment to its answer on behalf of both employers, again alleging that Claimant was not an employee on the date of her alleged injury and that Claimant was not covered under the Workers' Compensation Act (Act). The amendment alleged Claimant had not been paid wages such as would bring her work as a Foster Grandparent within coverage of the Workers' Compensation Act. It further alleged that federal law preempted any state law which might indicate Claimant, as a Foster Grandparent, would be covered under the Act. State Insurance Fund was the compensation carrier for both Respondents at the time of Claimant's injury.
The trial court found in its order that Claimant had sustained a 9% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole due to injury to Claimant's back. It also found Claimant was employed by Murray State College and that such employment was subject to and covered by provisions of the Act. Further, the trial court found Claimant sustained an accidental personal injury to her back arising out of and in the course of her employment and that she was an employee of Delta Community Action, but that she was a loaned servant from Delta to Murray State College under the direct supervision and control of Murray State College. Thus, it found Murray State College and its workers' compensation carrier, State Insurance Fund, liable to Claimant for workers' compensation benefits. Murray State College (Murray) Delta Community Action (Delta), and State Insurance Fund appeal this ruling to the court en banc. The three judge panel affirmed the trial court's order. All three Respondents appeal this latter ruling.
On appeal, Respondents argue the order of the Workers' Compensation Court finding Claimant to be an employee of Delta violates Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution. This appeal deals with the Foster Grandparent Program, a federal social services program authorized under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act. It is implemented nationally by Action, a federal agency which makes grants to "sponsor" organizations, such as Delta, to run the program at the local level. These "sponsors" must run their programs in strict compliance with federal law as set out in 42 U.S.C. ยงยง 5011 et seq.
The threshold issue is whether a Foster Grandparent can be classified as an employee entitled to receive benefits under the Act. Although Foster Grandparents are paid a "stipend" and are provided with other non-wage benefits, federal law specifically excludes these payments from being treated as "wages" for the purposes of state workers' compensation. The federal law also states that Foster Grandparents are no longer considered to be in the work force and are expected to perfo
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