On April 3, 2009, the Supreme Court of Texas held that a premises owner who hires contractors to perform work on its premises and enters into agreements whereby the owner will provide workers’ compensation insurance to the contractor’s employees is entitled to the benefit of the exclusivity provisions of the workers’ compensation act and cannot be sued for negligence by the contractor’s employees. In other words, a premises owner who contracts to provide workers’ compensation for its contractor’s employees gets to stand in the shoes of a general contractor and claim the benefit of the exclusivity defense. For more commentary and analysis on this opinion, see the Supreme Court of Texas Blog.
