Clendening v. Schlumberger Oil, W.C. No. 4-724-056 and 4-724-057 (2008).

Order of Remand

Chris Clendening responded to a job advertisement for Schlumberger Oil (Schlumberger) by going to an office of a hiring service called “SOS Services” located in Colorado. During completion of an application and interview, Mr. Clendening was told that the job would be performed out of the state of Colorado, but would be he would be returned to Colorado every five weeks. After an orientation, Mr. Clendening accepted a job in North Dakota and Montana which stated that he would be “based” in Williston, North Dakota, and his “city of origin” was Arvada, Colorado. Prior to the effective date of employment of the job offer, September 24, 2007, SOS Services paid Mr. Clendening, and after was paid directly by Schlumberger Oil. On October 7, 2007, and October 28, 2007, Mr. Clendening was injured in work-related accidents in Montana. After hiring Mr. Simon, Mr. Clendening’s claim was brought before an administrative law judge (ALJ). The ALJ agreed with Mr. Simon that the contract of hire was performed in Colorado, so Colorado had jurisdiction over the claim. The ALJ ordered Schlumberger pay for Mr. Clendening’s medical treatment. Schlumberger appealed the order and asserted that the ALJ erred in finding that Colorado had jurisdiction over the claims and that the ALJ misapplied the relevant law. The Industrial Claim Appeals Office (the Panel) held that the ALJ did not enter sufficient findings of fact to support the ALJ’s conclusion that the contract for hire was formed in Colorado, so jurisdiction was not established. After a lengthy explanation about the conferring of jurisdiction to Colorado for injuries sustained outside the state and the elements of a contract, the Panel remanded the decision to the ALJ. The instructions for remand stated that the ALJ must make factual findings to identify the last necessary act to finalize the contact for hire and whether Colorado had jurisdiction based on the location and nature of the last act of hiring.