Johanna applied for a job with Freedonia Publishing,
a public company that oversees 7 newspapers across
the United States. Upon receiving her job, Freedonia
Publishing assigned her to a small newspaper in
Plainview called The Town Times. Freedonia
Publishing set Johanna’s salary, gave her a job
description, provided her with housing and was solely
responsible for all hiring and firing at The Town
Times. The Town Times set her hours and oversaw
her work product and The Town Times logo appeared
on her paycheck.
The Town Times has 4 full-time employees including
Johanna. On occasion, Johanna’s husband, Emil,
would fill in with some of the accounting work and
with filing The Town Time taxes. Emil was never paid
for this work.
Johanna moved to Plainview and happily worked at
The Town Times for 3 years before getting her hand
stuck in the printing machine. Johanna sues The
Town Times for worker’s compensation. The town of
Freedonia requires an employer to have 5 employees
in order to be responsible for workers’ compensation.
The Town Times states that it is not responsible for
paying workers’ compensation. Is The Town Times
correct? Please explain your answer.
