Background:
Under 39-A M.R.S.A. §104, employers are generally immune from civil actions involving personal injuries arising out of and in the course of employment. This immunity extends to employees who are assigned to an employer by a temporary help service to work under the direction and control of the employer. Plaintiff, an on-site coordinator for the temporary help service, brought a civil action against the employer, alleging that she fell and was injured as a result of the employer’s negligence. The employer moved for summary judgment under the immunity provision of the Act. 

Court ruling: 
The Law Court held that in order for an employer to be immune from civil actions, the employees assigned by the temporary help service must work under the direction and control of the employer. In this case it was not clear whether the Plaintiff, who was supplied by the service to supervise other temporary employees, was under the direction and control of the employer. The Law Court therefore denied the employer’s Motion for Summary Judgment and remanded the case for the trier of fact to determine whether or not Plaintiff was working under the direction and control of the employer.

View complete text of Marcoux v. Parker-Hannifin/Nichols Portland Division