September 3, 1953
Hon. Lloyd G. Rust, Jr. Opinion No. S-96
County Attorney
Wharton County Re: Applicability of the pro-
Wharton, Texas visions of the County
Workmen’s Compensation
Dear Mr. Rust: law to certain officials.
Your request for our opinion reads in part as fol-.
lows :
“Are the County Service Officer, the Li-
brarian, the County Health Officer, the County
Agricultural Agent, the County Home Demonstra-
tion Agent, the County Welfare Case Worker, the
County Health Nurse, and the Deputy County Clerks,
Deputy Sheriffs and County Tax Collectors county
officials or are they county employees and covered
by Article 8309c, V.A.C.S., the Workmen’s Com-
pensation Act for county employees and should pre-
miums be paid on their salaries on the Workmen’s
Compensation Insurance policy carried by the Coun-
ty as provided in Article 8309c, V.A.C.S. ?”
Section 1, Article 8309c, Vernon’s Civil Statutes,
authorizes counties to provide Workmen’s Compensation In-
surance for county employees and provides, in part, that:
u ‘Employee’ shall mean every person in the
service of the county who has been appointed in ac-
cordance with the provisions of the Law. No per-
son in the service of the county who is paid on a
piece work basis or on a basis other than by the hour,
day, week, month or year shall be considered an em-
ployee and entitled to compensation under terms of
the provisions of this Act.”
. .
Hon. Lloyd G. Rust, Jr., page 2 (S-96)
In view of this definition, the County Service Of-
ficer, Art. 5798a-2, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, and the County
Librarian, Art. 1683, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, are appointed
by the Commissioners’ Court and are county employees un-
der the literal wording of the Workmen’s Compensation Act
for county employees.
County Health Officer. Article, 4423, Vernon’s
Civil Statutes, provides that the .Commissioners’ Court shall
appoint a County Health Officer and no compensation or salary
shall be allowed except for services actually rendered. The
determination of the classification of this position would de-
pend on the facts. In a county in which a physician’s full time
is devoted to county business, he would be an employee of the
county under Art. 8309~. However, if the employment in such
capacity is incidental to his private practice and is handled
in his own office, he is not a county employee.
The County Agricultural Agent and the County
Home Demonstration Agent appointed pursuant to the pro-
visions of Article 164 of Vernon’s Civil Statutes are State
employees and are not included within the provisions of
the County Workmen’s Compensation Act. However, they
are covered by the Workmen’s Compensation Act for federal
employees. 5 U.S.C.A., ch. 15, sec. 790 (Federal Employees
Compensation Act).
County Welfare Case Worker. The County Wel-
fare Case Worker in the usual sense is a State employee. Art.
695c, V.C.S. However, a county case worker employed by the
Commissioners’ Court for the purpose of assisting them in de-
termining which persons are eligible for county support as
paupers, idiots and lunatics, is a county employee and as such
is covered by the provisions of the County Workmen’s Compen-
sation Act.
County Health Nurse. Section 1 of Article 4528a,
Vernon’s Civil Statutes, provides that the Commissioners’
Court shall employ one or more Graduate Registered Nurses,
subject to removal by the Commissioners’ Court without prior
Hon. Lloyd G. Rust, Jr., page 3 (S-96)
notice.
Deputy County Clerks, Deputy Sheriffs and
Deputy County Tax Collectors. Article 3902, Vernon’s
Civil Statutes, provides that county officers shall apply
to the County Commissioners’ Court for authority to ap-
point deputies, assistants or clerks.
In view of the above statutory provisions, it
is oar opinion that the County Health Nurse, Deputy
County Clerks, Deputy Sheriffs and Deputy County Tax
Collectors are county employees.
SUMMARY
The County Service Officer, the .County
Librarian, the County Health Officer, County
Health Nurse, Deputy County Clerks, Deputy
Sheriffs and Deputy County Tax Collectors are
county employees within the meaning of Article
8309c, Vernon’s Civil Statutes (County Work-
men’s Compensation Act). The County Agri-
culture Agent and the County Home Demonstra-
tion Agent dare State employees, and are not in-
cluded within the provisions of the County Work-
men’s Compensation Act. However, they are
covered by the provisions of the Federal Work-
men’s Compensation Act.
The County Welfare Case Worker in the
usual sense is a State employee. (Art. 695~.
V.C.S.) However, a county case worker em-
ployed by the Commissioners’ Court for the
purpose of assisting them in determining which
persons are eligible for county support as pau-
pers, idiots and lunatics is a county employee
and as such is covered by the provisions of the
r ^
Hon. Lloyd G. Rust, Jr., page 4 (S-96)
Workmen’s Compensation Act.
APPROVED: Yours very truly,
J. C. Davis, Jr. JOHN BEN SHEPPERD
County Affairs Division Attorney General
Willis E. Gresham
Reviewer
BY
Burnell Waldrep
Executive Assistant Assistant
John Ben Shepperd
Attorney General
JB:da