Blackledge Furniture Co. v. Filings of the National Council on Compensation Insurance

SAIF petitions for judicial review of an order of the Department of Insurance and Finance (DIF). DIF held that Blackledge Furniture Company (Blackledge) could not be assessed workers’ compensation insurance premiums based on services provided by four floor covering installers, because they were not “workers” under former ORS 656.005(27) (renumbered ORS 656.005(28) in 1990), for the audit periods July 1, 1988, through June 30, 1989, and July 1, 1989, through June 30, 1990.

DIF applied the traditional common law tests to determine whether the installers were workers, see Castle Homes, Inc., v.…