The Third Department determined claimant was an employee of a logistics company (US Pack) which facilitates deliveries and was therefore entitled to unemployment insurance benefits:
The record reflects that claimant was assigned specific workdays and hours by US Pack’s operations manager and was issued an identification badge bearing US Pack’s name. Claimant was required to sit in the client’s parking lot during set hours — for which he was paid a set fee — and wait for US Pack to contact him with assignments. The client would notify US Pack about assignments, which, in turn, would call claimant to retrieve the assignments. Claimant was required to call dispatch at US Pack once the assignments were loaded into his car. Once a delivery was completed, claimant was required to call dispatch again, providing the name of the person who accepted the delivery and the time delivery was complete, before moving onto the next delivery. Although claimant could refuse an assignment, he testified that when he did, he was told he could be fired, and the following day was punished by being passed over for assignments. Some compensation was negotiated, although claimant testified that US Pack set the compensation of some of the deliveries.
Although the record establishes that claimant used his own vehicle and was not reimbursed any expenses, the record nevertheless supports the Board’s conclusion that US Pack exercised sufficient supervision, direction and control over significant aspects of claimant’s work to establish an employer-employee relationship … . Matter of Thomas (US Pack Logistics, LLC–Commissioner of Labor), 2020 NY Slip Op 07642, Third Dept 12-17-20