Matter of Soule (Commissioner of Labor)

Matter of Soule (Commissioner of Labor) 2015 NY Slip Op 06852 Decided on September 17, 2015 Appellate Division, Third Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Decided and Entered: September 17, 2015
520342

[*1] TAYLOR G. SOULE, Respondent. GANNETT SATELLITE INFORMATION NETWORK, INC., Doing Business as THE ITHACA JOURNAL, Appellant.

and

COMMISSIONER OF LABOR, Respondent.

Calendar Date: August 10, 2015
Before: Peters, P.J., Lahtinen, Garry and Lynch, JJ.

Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, Syracuse (Peter A. Jones of counsel) and The Zinser Law Firm, P.C., Nashville, Tennesee (L. Michael Zinser admitted pro hac vice), for appellant.

Cynthia Feathers, Glens Falls, for Taylor G. Soule, respondent.

Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke LLP, New York City (Mark A. Fowler of counsel), for New York News Publishers Association, amicus curiae.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Appeals from two decisions of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, filed March 21, 2014, which ruled, among other things, that Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. is liable for additional unemployment insurance contributions based on remuneration paid to claimant and others similarly situated.

Claimant contracted with Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. to deliver newspapers and other publications. Following claimant's application for unemployment insurance benefits, the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board determined that claimant was an employee of Gannett and that Gannett was liable for contributions based on remuneration paid to claimant and others similarly situated. Gannett now appeals.

We affirm. Upon our review of the record, we find that the indicia of control retained by Gannett through the agreement with claimant is nearly identical to the relevant factors identified to establish an employment relationship in Matter of Armison (Gannett Co., Inc.-Commissioner of Labor) (122 AD3d 1101, 1102 [2014], lv dismissed 24 NY3d 1209 [2015]) and Matter of Hunter (Gannett Co., Inc.—Commissioner of Labor) (125 AD3d 1166, 1167 [2015]). [*2]As such, we find that substantial evidence supports the Board's determination that claimant was an employee of Gannett (see Matter of Stevens [Gannett Co. Inc.—Commissioner of Labor], 130 AD3d 1401, 1042 [2015]; Matter of Race [Gannett Satellite Info. Network, Inc.—Commissioner of Labor], 128 AD3d 1130, 1130 [2015]; Matter of Travis [Gannett Satellite Info. Network, Inc.—Commissioner of Labor], 127 AD3d 1349, 1349 [2015]). Gannett's remaining contentions are without merit.

Peters, P.J., Lahtinen, Garry and Lynch, JJ., concur.

ORDERED that the decisions are affirmed, without costs.