When Pedro Pena sued Automatic Data Processing (ADP) to recover damages for injuries suffered while at work, the company countered that Pena's status--as a "special employee"--prevented him from maintaining the case.
When the Suffolk County Supreme Court denied ADP's dismissal request, the company appealed.
Under our state's Workers' Compensation Law, a person entitled to workers' compensation benefits can't sue his employer or "special employer."
Factors which determine whether someone is a "special" employee include who pays the wages, supervises and benefits from the work and has the authority to fire the individual. Since there were questions as to whether Pena's work was supervised by ADP or Randstad, his general employer, the Appellate Division, Second Department, agreed that the case couldn't be dismissed.
Was that the ADP solution?
To view the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Pena v. Automatic Data Processing, Inc.