Distributor of Cleaning Franchises Owes Premiums since its Franchisees are 'Workers'

The Washington Court of Appeals ruled that a distributor of cleaning franchises had to pay Industrial Insurance Act premiums for its franchisees that did not have to hire workers to perform cleaning services since the franchisees qualified as the distributor's "workers" under the law. Case: Department of Labor & Industries v. Lyons Enterprises, No. 45033-0-II, 03/31/2015, published. Facts: Lyons Enterprises is a distributor of Jan-Pro cleaning franchises. Although customers enter into contracts with Lyons to clean their facilities, it is not Lyons that does the cl...