Section 287.040 .1 (the Statutory Employer section), in part provides:

"1. Any person who has work done under contract on or about his premises which is an operation of the usual business which he there carries on shall be deemed an employer and shall be liable under this chapter to such contractor, his subcontractors, and their employees, when injured or killed on or about the premises of the employer while doing work which is in the usual course of his business.

2. The provisions of this section shall apply to the relationship of landlord and tenant, and lessor or lessee, when created for the fraudulent purpose of avoiding liability, but not otherwise. In such cases the landlord or lessor shall be deemed the employer of the employees of the tenant or lessee.

3. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the OWNER OF PREMISES upon which improvements are being erected, demolished, altered or repaired by an independent contractor but such independent contractor shall be deemed to be the employer of the employees of his subcontractors and their subcontractors when employed on or about the premises where the principal contractor is doing work." (Emphasis added)

In Seeley v Anchor Fence Co./Jason Neil, (LIRC) 2002, the specific issue was whether claimant was doing work "on or about" the premises of the employer. The "premises" meaning "any place under the exclusive control of the statutory employer where his usual business is carried on or conducted" including locations that temporarily may be under the exclusively control of he statutory employer by virtue of the work being done." See James v Union Electric Company, 978 S.W.2d 372, 375 (Mo.App. 1998). Here, the Anchor Fence Company provided a trailer to transport materials and equipment and the subcontractor drove his truck, until it broke down, when claimant drove his own truck. Each fence installation took 2 to 3 days to complete, claimant had pulled a trailer of supplies with his own truck on 4 or 5 occasions. Claimant was pulling the trailer from Anchor to a job site, the truck and trailer "jack-knifed" causing the injury. (ALJ Zerrar)

(This seems a "stretch" to say that the trailer, not owned by Anchor, was nevertheless the "premises" so as to bring in the statutory employment. Traditionally premises has involved the equivalent of exclusive ownership or control of premises.)

In Busselle v Wal-Mart, 37 S.W.3d 839 (Mo.App. S.D. 2001), Wal-Mart was held to be the statutory employer of claimant, a licensed electrician, who did work for a number of customers, including two separate Wal-Mart stores, where Wal-Mart required a licensed electrician to change bulbs. He did so several times a month, for several Wal-Mart stores, sometimes with assistance of the in-house staff. The Court held that this work was part of the "usual and customary" work of Wal-Mart, and did not require any special expertise even though claimant was a "licensed electrician". The employer argued, unsuccessfully, that the work was "episodic", "not regular" and "not part of the regular business of the retail trade."