An organization ("the Associates") that placed nurses on a part-time or temporary basis at hospitals and nursing homes argued that the nurses were independent contractors and as such did not pay unemployment tax on these nurses. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission ("the Commission") argued that the nurses were employees of the Associates and assessed the Associates unemployment tax. The district court and the appeals court split in their determination of whether the nurses were independent contractors or employees of the Associates.

The Supreme Court of Oklahoma ruled that the nurses were independent contractors for two reasons. First, the court noted that the nurses were not controlled by the Associates. Second, the nurses were "established in an independent profession by virtue of their training and license to practice nursing." Because the relationship between the Associates and the nurses fulfilled each prong of the independent contractor standard articulated in the Employment Security Act, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma affirmed the lower court decision holding that the Associates were not required to pay unemployment taxes for the nurses.