Are You Checking on Contractors? Posted on 03/01/2015 by Russ Rosenberg. The Kirby vacuum cleaner company is liable for an alleged sexual assault by one of its salesmen in the home of a customer although he was an independent contractor, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in a case watched closely by victims’ rights and business groups. Under Texas law, a business is generally liable for the negligent acts of its employees but not its independent contractors, because they are considered free to operate as they see fit. But by retaining control of where its independent con- tractors did their selling, in the homes of customers, Kirby also retained a legal duty to choose carefully whom it hired to go into those homes, the court said in a ruling written by Justice Raul Gonzalez. ``Sending a sexual predator into a home poses a foreseeable risk of harm to those in the home,'' Gonzalez wrote. ``Kirby dealers, required to do in-house demonstrations, gain access to that home by virtue of the Kirby name.

A person of ordinary intelligence should antici- pate that an unsuitable dealer would pose a risk of harm.'' It was not immediately clear whether the 6-3 ruling would leave other companies that make extensive use of independent contractors, such as Avon, Tupperware or a newspaper, more vulnerable to lawsuits for their negligent acts. Larry Wright, an Austin lawyer representing Kristi Read, the woman who was attacked in her home and who later sued, said, ``The way that decision is written it applies to anybody that requires people to go into other people's homes to sell their products. vacuum cleaner for long pile carpetWe know Kirby does that without any (criminal) checks. auto vacuum cleaner singaporeWe don't know how many other companies do the same thing.'' vacuum cleaner for asbestos

David Kutik, a lawyer representing Kirby, said the court's ruling would ``certainly'' expand the liability of other companies using independent contractors. ``In making Kirby liable here, the court has extended the rules relating to independent contractors to put other businesses who hire independent contractors in Texas at risk,'' Kutik said. ``That's still a very real possibility after this decision.'' Still, Justice Nathan Hecht, in a dissent joined by Justice Priscilla Owen, criticized the majority's reasoning but said it was ``aberrational and therefore not of much concern. The court tries as much as it can to prevent its decision from impacting the multitude of businesses similar to Kirby's.'' Kristi Read issued a statement that said the ruling ``will prevent another woman from having to go through what my family and I have been through.'' Neither Kirby nor Leonard Sena, an independent contractor who was a Kirby distributor, checked the criminal background of Mickey Carter when he was hired by Sena to sell the vacuum cleaners, the court said.

Carter also was hired as an independent contractor. Carter truthfully said in his employment application that he had not been convicted of any crime, but he did not report that he had pleaded guilty and received deferred adjudication to a charge of indecency with a child, the court said. Nor did anyone check his references to other employers, where women had complained of his inappropriate sexual behavior, the court said. Read, living in Seguin, allowed Carter into her home to make his sales pitch. She said he attacked her. He was never tried but instead was sent to prison in connection with the earlier charge; he has since been released.You found the best carpet and rug cleaning company in Austin. Your first thought may have been…”Peace Frog?..What a silly name. What does that have to do with carpet cleaning?” Our smiling tree frog proudly flashing the peace sign symbolizes All That is Good. All That is Positive. All That is Austin! Peace Frog Carpet & Tile Cleaning is an EARTH-FRIENDLY, locally-owned company dedicated to making your customer service experience remarkable.

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The company founded by Sir James Dyson, who reinvented the vacuum cleaner by doing away with the bag, came top in a study of consumers by Germany’s Institute for Quality.German families rated Dyson above their own Miele, Vorwerk, Siemens, AEG, Bosch and Karcher.It is a rare example of a British manufacturer still run by its founder that is not only doing rather well in this country, but has carried the flag for innovation and quality around the world.Indeed, Dyson cleaners are also the market leader in the home of technology, Japan, in terms of the value and volume of sales.They are also number one in terms of value in Taiwan and Hong Kong, while it is reporting strong growth in China, where companies have a reputation for ripping off successful ideas and creating their own cheaper versions.The study’s findings were welcomed by Dyson’s German chief executive, Max Conze, who said: ‘German consumers rate us ahead of their home grown companies, like Bosch and Miele.‘It disproves the common thinking that only Germans can manufacture world-class technology.

Interestingly we are seeing a similar pattern in Japan, where we are now number one, overtaking home grown successes in their own back yard.‘It seems we are ‘out-Germaning the Germans!’. ‘Dyson’s prowess means it has become a magnet for graduates and engineers, creating thousands of jobs in highly skilled jobs in this country, while its machines are made in Malaysia.Today – 22 years after it got rid of the bag - it is unveiling its latest improved vacuum cleaner the Dyson Cinetic Big Ball.The big change is that having done away with the bag, the new cleaner has now removed the need for a filter that – in other machines – can become clogged and needs to be cleaned or replaced.On most existing so-called cyclone machines the filter is needed to hold the finest particles of dust that are sucked up to prevent them clogging up the tubes.However, the Dyson team found that if they created flexible tips on the tubes which funnel the dust into the machine, they vibrate so quickly that the tiny particles cannot block them.

The company was founded by Sir James Dyson, pictured with Prime Minister David Cameron, who reinvented the vacuum cleaner by doing away with the bagThe flexible tips, which it calls Cinetic, vibrate 350 times a second which means dust as small as 0.5 microns, which is smaller than a skin cell, are spun through the machine and into the collecting bin.Sir James said: ‘Removing the bag from a vacuum solved one hassle, but filter maintenance remained an annoying problem that needed fixing. 'Dyson engineers have spent six years perfecting cyclone technology to make filter maintenance obsolete. 'The constant flexing of Cinetic tips ensures the cyclones do not block as microscopic dust is spun out of the air – not trapped in a cyclone or on a filter.’The technology is the result of nearly six years intensive research and development by a team of 29 Dyson engineers. Some 2,000 prototypes were developed whilst creating the new technology.The company said the removal of the need for a filter, which can become clogged, means the machine remains a constant high level of suction, so removing dirt and dust particles that can trigger allergies.