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This sounds like one of those classic cases of bureaucracy gone haywire.
It started May 14. Rexford, who installs flooring, had hurt his back play-wrestling with his autistic son. He is a
one-man show and, wouldn't you know it, he had the biggest job of his 30-year career: 1,800 square feet of hardwood
flooring in Lakewood Ranch.
Rexford didn't want to jeopardize a paycheck, so his wife, Tabatha, came to help. She was taping cardboard to protect
the floors when a state workers compensation inspector showed up at the job site.
State law requires everyone in the construction industry to be covered by workers' compensation or to buy a waiver. It's
a safety net that insulates businesses from lawsuits and insures workers injured on the job.
Clay Rexford has a waiver for himself, but nothing for his wife, because, he says, she has never worked with him and is
not his employee.
That day, the inspector cited him, which will cost at least $1,000, but the real trouble arose when the bureau of
compliance demanded he produce three years of records to prove Tabatha did not work for him.
The couple say it took six weeks and $500 to produce bank deposit statements.
They showed Tabatha had deposited Clay's checks at the bank, then withdrawn almost identical amounts the next day to
take care of household expenses.
That was enough to classify her as an employee, the Division of Workers Compensation decreed.
The Rexfords intend to appeal the decision, but Clay cannot work until the case is settled. The couple says they have
nearly depleted their savings and they worry about their son's medicines, one of which costs $500 a month.
"They're ruining us," Tabatha says. "We're being treated like Wal-Mart when he's just an installer."
"I keep asking myself, 'What have I done to deserve this?'" her husband adds. "We don't dispute the $1,000 fine. We did
wrong. We didn't know it was wrong. That's our ignorance.
"But it's hard to deal with people who don't have hearts. They don't care."
Tasha Carter, chief of the bureau of compliance, says her office just issues the citations. It's up to an administrative
judge to interpret the gray areas if someone appeals.
This is our tax dollars at work, folks. It's small wonder people lose respect for government.
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Clay Rexford of Sarasota hurt his back so he brought his wife to help him on his construction job. Now he faces a
$21,690 state fine, and he has been banned from working.