State v. Gateway Taxi Mgmt. Co.
| Decision Date | 25 June 2013 |
| Docket Number | ED 98715.,Nos. ED 98703,s. ED 98703 |
| Citation | 400 S.W.3d 478 |
| Parties | STATE of Missouri ex rel. Anatoly SIR, Complainant/Appellant/Cross–Respondent, v. GATEWAY TAXI MANAGEMENT COMPANY d/b/a Laclede Cab Company, Respondent/Respondent/Cross–Appellant, Missouri Commission on Human Rights, Additional Party/Respondent. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Eli Karsh, Liberman, Goldstein & Karsh, Kurt Cummiskey, St. Louis, MO, for appellant.
Brian E. McGovern, Bryan M. Kaemmerer, McCarthy, Leonard, Kaemmerer, L.C., Chesterfield, MO, for respondent Gateway Taxi.
Chris Koster, Attorney General, Vanessa Howard Ellis, Assistant Attorney General, St. Louis, MO, for additional party Missouri Commission on Human Rights.
Respondent taxicab company appeals, and complainant taxicab driver applicant cross-appeals, from the judgment of the circuit court entered on judicial review of the Decision and Order of the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (the Commission). The Attorney General (the A.G.) had filed an amended complaint that alleged that respondent had discriminated against complainant in violation of the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA), section 213.055 RSMo (2000),1 when it refused to consider complainant's application to become a taxicab driver because he had suffered a stroke, even though he was capable of performing the job of a taxicab driver. The Commission concluded that respondent was an employer under the MHRA; that complainant had a disability that did not interfere with performing the job of a taxicab driver; that the disability was a contributing factor in respondent's refusal to hire complainant; and that complainant could perform the job of a taxicab driver. Among other relief, the Commission ordered respondent to pay complainant damages in the amounts of $50,000 for humiliation and emotional distress and $35,000 for deprivation of his civil rights.
On appeal, respondent challenges the Commission's findings that (1) respondent's taxicab drivers are employees, not independent contractors, and (2) complainant is disabled as defined by section 213.010(4) of the MHRA. It also challenges the amounts of damages awarded to complainant. On cross-appeal, complainant challenges the Commission's failure to award him back pay and punitive damages. He also challenges an action taken by the circuit court.
We affirm for the following reasons: (1) Respondent's taxicab drivers were employees and not independent contractors under Missouri law applicable in MHRA cases; (2) the finding that complainant was disabled as defined by section 213.010(4) of the MHRA was supported by competent and substantial evidence of the physical limitations resulting from complainant's stroke, and evidence that complainant was restricted in performing a job or a class of jobs was not required; (3) the actual damage awards were supported by competent and substantial evidence; (4) the Commission did not err in failing to award back pay when back pay was not requested; (5) the MHRA does not authorize the Commission to award punitive damages; and (6) complainant's point challenging an action of the circuit court is unreviewable because it is not addressed to an error of the Commission.
Respondent, Gateway Taxi Management Company, doing business as Laclede Cab Company, operated approximately 120–140 taxicabs. They were painted red, bore the name “Laclede Cab,” and were equipped with a radio and a meter. Respondent had permits for its drivers. Respondent leased the taxicabs to the drivers for twelve or twenty-four hour shifts. Respondent provided liability insurance; vehicle maintenance, including oil changes; and a charge system for payment of fares. Respondent also provided customers for its drivers through a radio dispatch system. The dispatcher informed the drivers of a customer's location, and drivers responded by giving their locations. The job went to the driver who was closest to the customer.
Drivers were responsible for paying the leasing fee and gas and for keeping the taxicab clean. Drivers received fares from customers and were entitled to keep all fares and tips, in excess of the leasing fee. Respondent did not keep records of the drivers' receipts.
Respondent advertised when it had openings for taxicab drivers. The advertisements were for full-time positions. Respondent required prospective drivers to be at least twenty-four years old, have a Class E Chauffeur's license, pass a test exhibiting knowledge of various geographic locations in the area, communicate effectively in English, lift luggage up to seventy pounds, and assist passengers. To apply for a driving position, applicants were required to come to the office, complete a taxicab driver application, and undergo an interview.
Before respondent would hire a driver, the driver had to sign an independent contractor lease agreement, pass both a drug test and a physical, and supply a police report. Respondent would then send the prospective driver to the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission (MTC) to get an MTC taxi driver's license. An applicant for an MTC license must present documentation showing that the company has accepted the licensee as a driver. When the MTC issues a license, the license is limited to the company for whom the driver is driving.
If respondent hired a driver, he or she could have an “open shift” for twenty-four hours a day or a twelve-hour shift. Respondent provided its drivers with two days of training during which they watched a safe driving film and were taught to use the taxicab's dispatch system, meter, charge cards, and how to handle different situations, such as assisting customers or an accident.
Complainant, Anatoly Sir, who had been a taxicab driver in Russia, began driving a taxicab in the United States in 1992. He continued to drive a taxicab for various companies until August 1998, when he suffered a stroke. After he was released from the hospital and completed physical therapy, complainant passed a hospital-administered medical examination and was permitted to drive. Complainant resumed driving a taxicab for a series of taxicab companies for approximately five years, up until October 2004, when he stopped driving for his last taxicab company because of mechanical problems with the taxicab. After his stroke, complainant was able to work as a taxicab driver up to twelve to fourteen hours a day and was able to lift luggage. In 2004, complainant had a current MTC taxi driver's license for his last company, which he had obtained by submitting a drug test, police report, traffic report, and physical examination.
In October 2004, complainant saw respondent's advertisement for taxicab drivers and went to respondent's office, filled out an application, and made an appointment to return for an interview. When complainant returned for the interview, respondent's then-president, Jerry Standley, came out to meet complainant with complainant's application in his hand. Mr. Standley looked at the application and said it was “very good.” Complainant was seated at a table in the lobby; he lifted his left arm with his right arm, stood up, and stumbled. Mr. Standley asked, “What's up with your left hand ... You got stroke.” Mr. Standley said he would not take complainant because he did not “want to have problems with [the] insurance company.” Then he told complainant to “get out.” The interview lasted approximately two or three minutes. Respondent did not hire complainant.
After this interview, complainant felt angry, upset, embarrassed, degraded, and humiliated. Complainant testified that Mr. Standley talked down to him like he was a “slave” or “garbage,” and treated him like he was homeless and asking for change. Complainant testified that for approximately two months after the interview, he experienced insomnia, depression, and pressure in his chest. Complainant further testified that he also experienced marital friction and loss of self-esteem, customers, and income.
On November 22, 2004, complainant filed a charge of disability discrimination against respondent with the Commission. The A.G., on behalf of the Commission, filed a First Amended Complaint with the Commission. The original administrative proceedings, which included a hearing before a hearing examiner, 2 ended with the Commission's dismissal of the complaint. Complainant filed a petition for judicial review with the circuit court. The court granted complainant's petition and remanded the matter to the Commission for reconsideration. On reconsideration, a different hearing examiner read and reviewed the evidence and case materials and issued an Amended Recommended Decision on Remand. The hearing examiner concluded that respondent was an employer under the MHRA; that complainant had a disability that did not interfere with performing the job of a taxicab driver; that the disability was a contributing factor in respondent's refusal to hire complainant; and that complainant could perform the job. The Commission subsequently adopted the hearing examiner's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, and it entered a Decision and Order awarding damages and other relief to complainant.
Both complainant and respondent filed petitions for judicial review of the Commission's decision. The circuit court entered an Order and Judgment granting complainant's petition for judicial review in part by awarding him $20,995 in prejudgment interest. It denied complainant's petition for judicial review in all other respects, and it denied respondent's petition for judicial review.
Article V, section 18, of the Missouri Constitution provides for judicial review of administrative actions to determine “whether the same are...
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...by testimony—including the testimony of the plaintiff—or inferred from the circumstances. State ex rel. Sir v. Gateway Taxi Mgmt. Co. , 400 S.W.3d 478, 492-93 (Mo. App. E.D. 2013) ; State ex rel. Dean v. Cunningham , 182 S.W.3d 561, 567-68 (Mo. banc 2006) ; Wilkins , 519 S.W.3d at 538 ; Sot......
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...Independent contractors are typically hired by the job to complete a specific task. State ex rel. Sir v. Gateway Taxi Management Co., 400 S.W.3d 478, 486 (Mo.Ct.App.2013). Plaintiffs argue that none of them were hired by the job; rather they were hired by the year(s), which is the direct op......
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