Weme v. Lastavica

I respectfully dissent. I believe that the compensation judge and the majority of the Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals adopted an unreasonably strict construction of the term “contractor” for purposes of Minn.Stat. § 176.215, subd. 1 (1988). The result is a definition that treats municipalities more favorably than private employers simply because municipalities do not owe “contractual” obligations to third parties in the traditional sense. .

In this case, the City of St. Paul allowed L.A. Industries to use, virtually free of charge, approximately $300,000 worth of equipment such that…