Bhanti v. Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center, Inc.

• Decision Date: 05 April 1999
• Citation: Bhanti v. Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center, Inc., 260 A.D.2d 334, 687 N.Y.S.2d 667 (N.Y. App. Div. 1999)
• Parties: PRAMOD BHANTI, Appellant,<BR>v.<BR>BROOKHAVEN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER, INC., Respondent.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

260 A.D.2d 334

687 N.Y.S.2d 667

PRAMOD BHANTI, Appellant,

v.BROOKHAVEN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER, INC., Respondent.

Decided April 5, 1999.

Ritter, J. P., Altman, Friedmann and Goldstein, JJ., concur.

Ordered that the judgment is modified, on the law, by deleting therefrom the sum of $3,750 and substituting therefor the sum of $9,000; as so modified, the judgment is affirmed, with costs to the defendant, and the order dated May 19, 1998, is modified accordingly.

The complaint alleges three causes of action under Labor Law article 6, which governs an employer's payment of wages and benefits to an employee (Labor Law § 190). In order to state a claim under article 6, a plaintiff must first demonstrate that he or she is an employee entitled to its protections. Although the definition of employee is broad, independent contractors are not included (see, Labor Law § 190 [2]; Di Lorenzo v Sbarra, 124 AD2d 446).

The determination of whether an employer-employee relationship exists rests upon evidence that the employer exercises either control over the results produced or over the means used to achieve the results (see, Matter of 12 Cornelia St., 56 NY2d 895, 897; Matter of Sullivan Co., 289 NY 110, 112). Minimal or incidental control over an employee's work product without the employer's direct supervision or input over the means used to complete the work is insufficient to establish a traditional employment relationship (see, Matter of Ted Is Back Corp., 64 NY2d 725, 726). Where the proof on the issue of control presents no conflict in evidence or is undisputed, the matter may properly be determined as a matter of law (see, Berger v Dykstra, 203 AD2d 754).

Here, there is no issue of fact as to whether the plaintiff, a physical therapist, was an independent contractor or an employee of the defendant Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center, Inc. (hereinafter Brookhaven). The plaintiff possessed sole decision-making power regarding the type, nature, extent, duration, and follow-up therapy for each patient. In addition, he was not precluded from competing with Brookhaven or from establishing his own private practice. Further, the plaintiff was not required to work a fixed schedule, did not receive employee benefits, and was paid for his services by Brookhaven as a non-employee. Thus, the Supreme Court properly determined, as a matter of law, that the plaintiff was an independent contractor.

The Supreme Court, in dismissing the plaintiff's causes of...