Was Dump Truck Driver Paid by Load Covered by Workers’ Comp?

What Do You Think?

Only employees are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits in Louisiana. Thus, it’s critical for employers to know which factors make a worker an independent contractor, and which ones make him a covered employee. A case involving an injured dump truck driver highlights the importance of looking beyond how a company classifies and pays its workers.

The worker was in an accident while driving a dump truck for the company. The company refused to pay workers’ compensation benefits, arguing he was an independent contractor. 

The company had hired the driver for an indefinite term. There was a contract between him and the company referring to him as an “employee” and indicating that he could be terminated at any time. The company owned the truck and the equipment inside it. The driver didn’t pay for repairs or gas. The company assigned him deliveries, telling him where to pick up and drop off loads. It also required him to wear a company shirt.

There were other factors, however, indicating that he might be an independent contractor. The company paid him a percentage of what the truck earned on each assignment, rather than an hourly wage or salary. It did not require him to work particular hours or days. Payroll records showed that he sometimes worked only one to three days per week. He was also free to drive for other companies. Moreover, the company classified him as a 1099 contractor and did not withhold employment taxes. Although the company provided delivery destinations and directions, it maintained that the driver could choose his own routes. 

In determining whether a worker is an employee, Louisiana courts consider: 

1) Whether there is a valid contract between the parties; 

2) Whether the work is of an independent nature such that the contractor may employ non-exclusive means in accomplishing it;

3) Whether the contract calls for specific piecework as a unit to be done according to the independent contractor's own methods, without being subject to the control and direction of the principal; 

4) Whether there is a specific price for the overall undertaking agreed upon; and 

5) The duration of the work is for a specific time and not subject to termination or discontinuance at the will of either side without a corresponding liability for its breach.

Was the driver an employee?

A. Yes. The company substantially controlled his work, could terminate his job at any time, and referred to him as an employee in its paperwork.

B. No. It called him an employee, but it treated him an independent contractor for tax purposes.

If you selected A, you agreed with the court in Smith v. RNK Construction, LLC, No. 2026-CA-0078 (La. Ct. App. 10/02/26), which found the driver was an employee.

The court pointed out that there was no definite term to the relationship between the driver and company. Further, the agreement indicated that the driver was an employee. There was no written independent contractor agreement suggesting otherwise. Also, the driver didn’t own or pay for the truck or equipment. He was required to wear a uniform and told where to pick up and deliver loads. Finally, the company retained the ability to fire him at any time. 

“[T]he evidence clearly shows that [the company] controlled every important aspect of [the driver’s] work,” the court said. In the absence of a contract in which the driver intentionally opted out of workers’ compensation coverage, he was not an independent contractor, but a covered employee.

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