PJC General Negligence 2022

PJC 10.5

A GENCY AND S PECIAL R ELATIONSHIPS

to the exclusive remedy provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act. Wingfoot Enterprises , 111 S.W.3d at 141. However, if the staff leasing company does not obtain worker’s compensation insurance, both the staff leasing company and the client com pany may be treated as nonsubscribers. Texas Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fund v. DEL Industrial, Inc. , 35 S.W.3d 591 (Tex. 2000). Note: The Staff Leasing Services Act was amended in 2013 and is now the Professional Employer Organization Act. Tex. Lab. Code ch. 91. Statutory employment. In Entergy Gulf States, Inc. v. Summers , 282 S.W.3d 433, 444 (Tex. 2009), the court stated: “We conclude that Entergy qualifies under the Act’s definition as a ‘general contractor’ and, as a statutory employer, is entitled to assert the exclusive remedy defense. Tex. Lab. Code § 408.001.” Caveat. The Workers’ Compensation Act contains its own definitions of various terms, such as “course and scope of employment,” “employee,” and “independent con tractor.” See Tex. Lab. Code §§401.011(12), 401.012, 406.121(2). If such terms are relevant to determining employment as a defense under the Act, the practitioner is advised to consult the Act’s definitions to determine whether the instructions found in this chapter need to be modified to track the relevant statutory definition.

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