Johanna applied for a job with Freedonia Publishing, a public company that oversees 7 newspapers across the United States. Upon receiving her job, Freedonia Publishing assigned her to a small newspaper in Plainview called The Town Times. Freedonia Publishing set Johannas salary, gave her a job description, provided her with housing, and was solely responsible for all hiring and firing at The Town Times. The Town Times set her hours and oversaw her work product and The Town Times logo appeared on her paycheck.
The Town Times has 4 full-time employees including Johanna. On occasion, Johannas husband, Emil, would fill in with some of the accounting work and with filing The Town Time taxes. Emil was never paid for this work.
Johanna moved to Plainview and happily worked at The Town Times for 3 years before getting her hand stuck in the printing machine. Johanna sues The Town Times for workers compensation. The town of Freedonia requires an employer to have 5 employees in order to be responsible for workers compensation. The Town Times states that it is not responsible for paying workers compensation. Is The Town Times correct? Please explain your answer.
