Ruelas v. Staff Builders Pers. Servs., Inc

In Ruelas v. Staff Builders Pers. Servs., Inc., 199 Ariz. 344, 345, P 2, 18 P.3d 138, 139 (App. 2001), the Court addressed whether Staff Builders, an agency that supplied nurses for Posada del Sol Health Care Center, could be held vicariously liable for an injury that occurred while its nurses were administering an enema to a patient. 199 Ariz. at 345, P 1, 18 P.3d at 139. The Court held that summary judgment in favor of Staff Builders was proper. Id. at 348, P 14, 18 P.3d at 142. The Court noted that while Staff Builders "was responsible for ensuring the nurses were licensed and experienced, and for administering minimum competency tests, paying the nurses, providing workers' compensation and liability insurance, and orienting the nurses to Posada del Sol's expectations, fire and disaster program, dress code, and general nursing procedures," no facts supported the assertion that "Staff Builders actually controlled or had the right to control the manner in which the nurses gave the enema or performed any aspect of their work at Posada del Sol." Id. at 347, PP 8, 9, 18 P.3d at 141. In contrast, the record showed that "Posada del Sol informed Staff Builders' nurses of their responsibilities and supervised Staff Builders' nurses to the same extent as its own nurses." Id. at P 9, 18 P.3d at 141. In Ruelas, the Court considered the contract between the two employers to be "evidence" of the general employer's "administrative control," but we also looked for "facts to support an assertion that the general employer actually controlled or had the right to control the manner in which the nurses gave the enema or performed any aspect of their work at the special employer's site." 199 Ariz. at 347, PP 8-9, 18 P.3d at 141.