Hofer v. Redstone Feeders, LLC

Appellant injured his right shoulder while working for Employer. Due to his injuries and Employer’s lack of workers’ compensation coverage, Appellant sued to recover for his disability, arguing that Employer was in violation of South Dakota’s workers’ compensation law by failing to provide workers’ compensation insurance for its employees. The circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of Redstone, concluding that Redstone was exempt from the requirement to purchase workers’ compensation insurance under S.D. Codified Laws 62-3-15, which exempts “farm or agricultural laborers” from coverage. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the applicable test for determining an employee’s status as an agricultural laborer under section 62-3-15 is examining the entire nature of the employee’s work, which involves looking at the nature of the employer’s business; and (2) in this case, Appellant’s employment was agricultural in nature and performed for an exclusively agricultural employer, and therefore, Appellant was an agricultural laborer under the code and thus exempt from workers’ compensation coverage. View "Hofer v. Redstone Feeders, LLC" on Justia Law