Matter of Kriplin (Community Newspaper Group LLC--Commissioner of Labor)

Summary

The Appellate Division, Third Department affirmed Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board decisions finding that Community First Holdings, Inc. employed Jonathan Kriplin and similarly situated newspaper carriers. The court held that substantial evidence supported the Board's determination that the publisher exercised sufficient control over the carriers' work, and rejected arguments concerning independent-contractor status, Department of Labor guidelines, and First Amendment rights.

Holdings

1. The Board's determination that Kriplin was an employee of CFHI was supported by substantial evidence and was therefore beyond further judicial review.
2. Evidence of factors that could support independent-contractor status did not require reversal because substantial evidence supported the Board's contrary finding.
3. The Board's finding that an employment relationship existed did not impede or infringe CFHI's First Amendment rights.

Questions Presented

1. Whether substantial evidence supported the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board's determination that Kriplin was an employee of CFHI for purposes of the unemployment insurance law.
2. Whether the distribution agreements and the circumstances of the newspaper delivery work established sufficient employer control over the means or results of the work to support an employment relationship.
3. Whether Department of Labor guidelines or CFHI's asserted First Amendment rights required a different result.

Disposition

affirmed