Julie Mikolajczak v. Balbir Mann d/b/a Cole's Corner Market, 34824-5

Balbir Mann operates Cole's Corner Market as a sole proprietorship and also owns 90% of Mann Group LLC (Sultan Chevron); Mann manages both businesses.
Cole's Corner employed no more than seven people during the relevant period; Mann Group LLC had additional employees.
Julie Zufall (f/k/a Mikolajczak) worked for Cole's Corner in 2013, suffered a shoulder injury, and alleges Mann failed to provide a reasonable accommodation in violation of the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD).
WLAD applies only to "employers" who employ eight or more persons; the Human Rights Commission rule WAC 162-16-220(6) allows combining employees of corporations or other artificial persons if managed in common.
The trial court held Mann qualified as an employer by combining employees of Cole's Corner and Mann Group LLC under WAC 162-16-220(6); Mann appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether WAC 162-16-220(6) permits combining employees of a sole proprietorship with those of a corporation/other artificial person to meet WLAD's eight-employee threshold	Zufall: Yes — Cole's Corner employees may be combined with Mann Group LLC employees because the entities are managed in common	Mann: No — a sole proprietorship is not a corporation or "artificial person," so the rule does not apply; only employees personally attributable to Mann count	Reversed the trial court: WAC 162-16-220(6) applies only to corporations/other artificial persons; a sole proprietorship cannot be combined with such entities to reach eight employees

Hegwine v. Longview Fibre Co., 162 Wn.2d 340 (interpreting agency rules using plain meaning)
Trs. of Dartmouth Coll. v. Woodward, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 518 (defining a corporation as an artificial being)
Bankston v. Pierce County, 174 Wn. App. 932 (sole proprietorship legally indistinguishable from its owner)
Patten v. Ackerman, 68 Wn. App. 831 (individual not personally responsible for corporation's employees)
Anaya v. Graham, 89 Wn. App. 588 (discussing payroll method for counting employees)