Church is Employer of Parish School Custodian for Workers' Comp Purposes

In Bravo v. Church of the Annunciation at Manhattanville, (S. Ct. NY, Jan. 10, 2011), a New York state trial court held that a Catholic Church exercised complete domination and control over a parish school so that the Church will be seen as the employer of  a custodian at the Annunciation School. This finding precludes the custodian, who has received workers' compensation payments for an injury suffered while working at the school, from bringing suit for additional recovery against the Church. Workers compensation precludes further recovery from one's employer. Had the court found that the School, which had a separate tax identification number, was the custodian's employer, a suit could have been maintained against the Church for additional damages.