Do Pre-Employment Injuries Qualify for Workers’ Comp?
When someone gets injured during a pre-employment test, do they qualify for workers’ compensation benefits? The answer hinges on a crucial interpretation of employment law.
Case Overview
Cozmin Gadalean applied for a commercial driver position with Imperial Trucking Inc. in Oregon. After an interview, the company’s owner scheduled Gadalean for a mandatory U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) pre-employment driving test.
On June 4, 2014, Gadalean participated in the test, which involved making an actual delivery in an Imperial truck with one of the company’s drivers. Unfortunately, after reaching the delivery destination, Gadalean fell from the truck, suffering a hip injury. He was later diagnosed with a hip strain and filed a workers’ compensation claim.
The Workers’ Comp Claim
Gadalean believed he was on the verge of securing the job, assuming he passed the driving test. Although he hadn’t received a formal job offer or completed any employment tax forms, he thought he was essentially employed. However, Imperial’s workers’ compensation insurer denied his claim, arguing that Gadalean wasn’t yet an employee when the injury occurred.
Gadalean requested a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ), asserting that the owner had verbally told him he had the job and would be paid 25% of the delivery’s gross profit. However, both the company’s owner and the driver who accompanied Gadalean testified that the pre-employment test was unpaid and part of the standard hiring process. The ALJ sided with Imperial, ruling that Gadalean hadn’t been hired, hadn’t been paid, and wasn’t promised any compensation for the pre-employment test.
Appeal to the State Court
Gadalean appealed the decision, arguing that the state’s minimum wage law should have been considered to determine his eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits. The Oregon Court of Appeals initially sided with Gadalean, ruling that since he had been “put to work,” he qualified as a worker and was entitled to the minimum wage, thus making him eligible for workers’ comp.
Supreme Court Ruling
Imperial Trucking took the case to the Oregon Supreme Court, contending that there must be a formal agreement for compensation between employer and employee for a person to qualify as a worker under the state’s workers’ compensation law. Gadalean, on the other hand, argued that the entitlement to the minimum wage should suffice.
The Oregon Supreme Court concluded that for services to be furnished “for” remuneration, there must be an expectation of payment. Since the company’s owner never promised to pay Gadalean for the testing time, there was no expectation of remuneration.
The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals’ decision and reinstated the board’s original ruling: Gadalean wouldn’t receive workers’ compensation benefits for his injury during the driving test.
For further details, you can reference relevant state employment and workers’ compensation laws from the U.S. Department of Labor and Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division.
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