What's wrong with this lawyer?!-Chapter 1081 - 351: Lawyer Tang Creates a Stir in Xiping City

Xiping City Airport, Lawyer Tang was waiting at the arrivals gate.

Today, Lin Youliang and his family were arriving, and as their attorney, he had to come to pick them up.

The plane tickets for the entire family were all paid for by Lawyer Tang… there was no choice; they really didn’t have a dime to spare.

In many cases like this, where long-term treatment is required, one big problem arises: you have to pay the upfront costs out of your own pocket.

Yes, you can claim reimbursement through litigation, but before the lawsuit, you have to spend the money first.

So, Lawyer Tang had no choice but to pay for the plane tickets… he kept good records of these expenses, as they could be claimed for compensation later.

After waiting for quite a while, Lin Youliang was slowly pushed out in his wheelchair. Because his appearance after the burns was too frightening, they had covered him with a blanket outside.

Although Lawyer Tang stood among the crowd, Lin Nannan immediately recognized him; his unique demeanor really stood out.

"Lawyer Tang, sorry to trouble you to make this trip… truly, we’re so sorry," Lin Nannan’s mother quickly stepped forward to say.

Lawyer Tang waved his hand: "It’s nothing. Stay in Xiping for a day today. Tomorrow we’ll head to Xihe together. The assessment likely won’t take long; once it’s done, you can head back."

"Let’s head to the hotel now. I’ve already booked a room."

Lin Nannan’s family expressed their endless gratitude since these costs would normally have to come out of their own pockets.

Lawyer Tang didn’t say much more. To him, as long as the task gets done, this money was insignificant.

Early the next morning, the group headed straight to Xihe City, planning to begin the assessment of labor capacity.

However, just as they arrived, another piece of news came through.

"The assessment can’t be done today? Why?" Lawyer Tang asked the staff in front of him.

The staff replied: "Lawyer Tang, today, the bureau received a summons from the Xihe City Court. Dayi Company has filed an administrative lawsuit, claiming that this matter shouldn’t be classified as a workplace injury."

"Since the Xihe City Court has filed the case, we’ll have to wait for the court’s judgment before proceeding. You understand how these things work; there’s nothing we can do for now."

Lawyer Tang nodded—he understood as well. Labor capacity assessments require recognition of workplace injury as a prerequisite, and now that an administrative lawsuit has begun, they’d have to wait for the court’s ruling.

After all, the court could potentially overturn the workplace injury determination.

So, there was no choice but to wait. Lawyer Tang turned and explained the situation to Lin Nannan’s family, then arranged for them to stay in Xihe City temporarily.

Anyway, the subsequent expenses could all be included as part of transportation and accommodation costs.

As for himself, he returned to Xiping City because the second-instance hearing there was about to start.

However, it seemed that the Intermediate Court considered the case relatively straightforward, so there was no official hearing for the second instance—Lawyer Tang made his trip in vain.

Fortunately, the second-instance result came quickly: appeal denied, original verdict upheld!

Now the next step would be to wait for the enforcement from the opposing party.

Meanwhile, at the Xihe City Court, the legal affairs director of Dayi Company was having a tough time.

The administrative lawsuit itself was weak, and he knew there was little chance of winning, but he had no choice but to file it.

This is often the case for many workers—when the boss hands you an impossible task, you can’t refuse.

Because in the boss’s eyes, you’re paid a salary, so you have to accomplish all the tasks assigned to you. If you can’t even handle such trivial matters, then why do I need you?

Don’t even try talking to me about the law; weren’t you a lawyer once? Can’t find a way around this?

Unsurprisingly, during the court session, the legal affairs director was harshly criticized by the staff from the Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security.

He argued that there was no employment relationship between the company and Lin Youliang, claiming that Lin was brought in by a contractor. He even presented the subcontract agreement signed between the company and the contractor.

But just one statement trapped him in a dead-end: assigning labor to an unqualified natural person between the parties invalidates the subcontract.

According to the Supreme Court’s judicial interpretation: If the labor-using unit violates laws or regulations by subcontracting its business to an organization or natural person not qualified as an employing entity, and workers hired by said organization or natural person suffer work-related injuries or fatalities while engaged in subcontracted work, the labor-using unit shall assume work-related injury insurance responsibilities.

This is where the magic of law lies. Given the current situation, workplace injury recognition was inevitable, meaning that all the migrant workers might legally have employment relationships with the company.

The outcome would be advantageous then!

But… if you use this argument to claim double wages or other compensation, sorry, neither arbitration agencies nor courts will support such claims.

Because you weren’t managed by the company, there’s no employment relationship between you.

However, if you suffer an accident, then there is an employment relationship, as it’s a prerequisite for workplace injury recognition.

And you cannot use the absence of an employment relationship in your defense—the courts will certainly not support you.

It’s about flexibility: applying legal provisions based on the specifics of the case… no matter what ruling is issued, there’ll always be legal grounds to justify it!

Ultimately, this is all for stability—not entirely favoring employers, nor blindly supporting the workers.

Take a recent case as an example. A migrant worker who had surpassed the retirement age got injured on a construction site while working.

The company at the time didn’t want to assume liability and referenced another judicial interpretation by the Supreme Court:

If a labor-using unit hires someone who has already legally qualified for pension benefits or receives retirement benefits, and disputes arise in their employment, the People’s Court should handle these disputes under the category of a service relationship.