labor lawAdivision of labor law center

A new revision to the labor laws in Missouri helps to define just what the liability is for employers who hire contractors or subcontractors to do work on their premises. The rule is that any employer or company that has this work done at one of their work sites by a contractor or subcontractor is liable for them and their employees if they are hurt or killed on the site.

The distinction in the revision, though, is that the contractor or subcontractor must be doing work is that is deemed a normal part of your company’s business. So that means that they cannot be doing something, such as fixing the kitchen or repairing the bathroom, that wouldn’t be considered an integral part of your day to day operations. If you ran an office that did HR work for other companies, say, then the contractor or subcontractor would have to be in your offices working in some capacity toward giving other companies HR consultation.

That is an important distinction made in the way very specifically. It says that this liability does not count when the independent contractor is building, erecting, altering, demolishing, or repairing anything on the premises. The liability in that case for when the independent contractor’s employees get hurt lies with the independent contractor.

The whole question of liability is crucial in workers’ comp because it determines who could be paying disability payments of death benefits for years after the accident takes place. What happens then is that that person’s workers’ comp insurance could get more expensive because of a big claim. And that lead to years of higher costs for workers’ comp insurance coverage for whoever is found liable for the injured employee of the independent contractor. Now you are starting to see the importance of this labor law distinction.

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