Delta Logistics, Inc. v. Employment Department Tax Section

ORS 657.047(1)(b) creates an exemption from the unemployment benefit laws for truck owners that both lease their trucks to for-hire carriers and “personally operat[e], furnis[h] and maintai[n]” the leased trucks. On review, the Employment Department argues that, to come within that exemption, the owner must be the only person who operates the truck. In the department’s view, if the owner hires another person to help him or her operate the truck, the owner does not “personally operat[e]” the truck, and the exemption does not apply. The Court of Appeals disagreed, reasoning that ORS 657.047(2)…