Hays v. Workers’ Compensation Division
Wyoming Supreme Court
768 P.2d 11 (1989)
- Written by Serena Lipski, JD
Facts
Martin L. Hays was a partner in the partnership of Hays Transportation Co. Martin was killed while working for Hays Transportation. Martin’s widow, Tammy S. Hays, filed a claim for workers’-compensation death benefits asserting that Martin was an employee of Hays Transportation. The claim was allowed, and the Wyoming Workers’ Compensation Division filed an objection, alleging in part that Martin was a partner and, therefore, not an employee of Hays Transportation. The Wyoming Workers’ Compensation Act defined employee to include anyone who entered into an employment relationship with an employer as well as corporate officers of a corporation engaged in an extrahazardous business if the corporation followed certain administrative requirements. The trial court found that Martin was not an employee and denied the claim. Tammy appealed, arguing that a partner in an extrahazardous business was an employee for workers’-compensation purposes, and if not, then the Wisconsin Workers’ Compensation Act violated the Equal Protection Clause because it treated partners differently from corporate officers.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Macy, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
