![]() The court then noted that “ public officer ‘is a position to which a portion of the sovereignty of the state attaches for the time being, and which is exercised for the benefit of the public. 1965), the Indiana Court of Appeals discussed whether a “township assessor” (an office which was recently eliminated by the Indiana Legislature) was an “executive officer.” The Court noted that “t is well settled in this State that a public officer is not an ‘employee’ under the Workmen’s Compensation Act.” Id. at 282. Additionally, In Union Township of Montgomery County v.On page 201, the Indiana Attorney general stated that “executive officers” means “that group of persons commonly denominated as officers under prior law and who prior hereto were not entitled to compensation benefits when injured while engaging in executive activities.”Īccordingly, the Attorney General concluded that “executive officer” was intended “to extend workmen’s compensation benefits to those persons who serve and represent the governmental subdivisions and who are designated by the subdivision as included in the contract of workmen’s compensation insurance covering said subdivision by the payment of a premium on those individual executive officers.” (In short, that the statute leaves the choice of who to designate to the political subdivision, so long as that person is serving in a representative capacity). More particularly, the 1956 Attorney General Opinion addressed the question of whether members of the county council and other council’s would be considered “executive officers” under Indiana WC law.Nonetheless, a 1956 Attorney General opinion and a 1965 Indiana Court of Appeals opinion interpreting the definition of an “executive officer” suggest that it is not the label of “executive” that matters, but rather the difference between whether the office is a “public officer” and therefore not an employee. Although the definition of “township” still equates to a “municipal corporation” and a “political subdivision,” the definition of “Advisory Board Member” is not as easily linked to “executive officer.” Unlike with the office Township Trustee described above, the Township Advisory Board is defined not as an “executive” but rather as the township legislative body. Accordingly, a “township trustee” is the executive of a municipal corporation or political/governmental subdivision. Pursuant to Indiana Code § 36-1-2-10, Indiana Code § 36-1-2-13, and Indiana Code § 36-1-2-23, a “township” is a “municipal corporation” and a “political subdivision.” And under Indiana Code § 36-6-4-2, a Township Trustee is the “township executive”.Accordingly, the questions involve the interpretation of two separate terms: (1) what does the statute mean by “governmental subdivision or municipal corporation” and (2) what does the statute mean by “executive officer.” A brief analysis below regarding these two terms as they relate to two questions. Indiana Code §§ 22-3-6-1(b) (1) & (2) provide the parameters under which an “executive officer” of a “governmental subdivision” can be brought within coverage by including them specifically in the insurance contract. IC 22-3-6-1(b) (2) states “An executive officer of a municipal corporation or other governmental subdivision or of a charitable, religious, educational, or other nonprofit corporation may…be brought within the coverage…by specifically including the executive officer in the contract of insurance.” IC 22-3-6-1(b) (1) “An executive officer elected or appointed and empowered in accordance with the charter and bylaws of a corporation, other than a municipal corporation or governmental subdivision or a charitable, religious, educational, or other nonprofit corporation, is an employee of the corporation under IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6….” However given the statute wording, it could be interpreted that board members could be considered executive officers of the township, and therefore, the township could elect to cover them. In the corporate world, we wouldn’t consider board members to be employees. Some carriers treat trustees as regular employees and other treat them as executive officers.Īlso, some townships desire to cover the township advisory board members on their workers compensation policies. These questions arise when providing workers compensation insurance coverage for townships. ![]() Is a Township Advisory Board member considered an “executive officer” of a “governmental subdivision”?.Is a Township Trustee considered an “executive officer” of a “governmental subdivision or municipal corporation”?.
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