Legal Memorandum: Establishing an Employment Status

Issue: UNDER THE FEDERAL EMPLOYER’S LIABILITY ACT, UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES IS A PARTY ‘EMPLOYED’ AT THE TIME OF AN ACCIDENT?

The starting point for the proper resolution of such a motion is section 1 of Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA) which provides in part that “[e]very common carrier by railroad . . . shall be liable in damages to any person suffering such injury while he is employed by such carrier . . . .” TA s "45 U.S.C. § 51" c 1 l "45 U.S.C. § 51"45 U.S.C. § 51 (emphasis added).  The seminal case construing this provision is TA s "Kelley v. Southern Pac. Co., 419 U.S. 318 (1974)." c 2 l "Kelley v. Southern Pac. Co., 419 U.S. 318 (1974)"Kelley v. Southern Pac. Co., 419 U.S. 318 (1974).

The circumstances in Kelley are as follows, the plaintiff, was injured when he fell from the top of a railroad car where he had been working.  Although Kelley acknowledged that nominally he was the employee of a subsidiary trucking company (and had received workers’ compensation benefits as an employee of the trucking company), Kelley sought recovery against the parent railroad on a theory that the railroad sufficiently controlled his work to be liable under the FELA.  419 U.S. at 321.  The district court ruled in Kelley’s favor.  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed.  The Supreme Court vacated the court of appeals decision and remanded to the district court to make further findings in accordance with the Supreme Court’s opinion.  TA s "Kelley v. Southern Pac. Co., 419 U.S. 318 (1974)." c 2Id. at 332.  […]