Kruse & Associates, Inc. v. Titan Staffing Network, Inc.

Let’s talk about the time a staffing company basically played Russian roulette with workers’ comp insurance — and when the gun went off, tried to make someone else pay for the bullet. That’s the gist of this wild $75,000 lawsuit out of Tulsa County, where one business is accusing another of ghosting on its legal responsibilities, leaving innocent bystanders (and balance sheets) to take the hit.

So who are we even talking about here? On one side, you’ve got Kruse & Associates, Inc., a Tulsa-based payroll and HR services provider that helps companies manage their employees — think of them as the quiet, responsible friend who always pays their taxes on time and keeps immaculate spreadsheets. On the other side, we have Titan Staffing Network, Inc., a Maryland-based temp agency with a name that sounds like a minor superhero team from a 1980s cartoon, and its alleged mastermind, Jonas Purisch, who appears to be the director, registered agent, and controlling shareholder — basically, the guy calling the shots.

Back in April 2018, Kruse and Titan Staffing signed a contract. It wasn’t a marriage, but in the corporate world, it might as well have been — complete with vows, expectations, and eventually, betrayal. The deal was simple: Titan would supply temporary workers to clients, and Kruse would handle payroll, taxes, and workers’ compensation insurance for those employees — but only the ones Titan actually told them about. There were rules. Lots of them. And like any good contract, it had clauses bold enough to make an accountant cry: Titan had to submit time sheets, report wages, and confirm which employees were covered. Most importantly, if someone wasn’t on Kruse’s list? Titan was supposed to cover them — including carrying its own workers’ comp policy.

Spoiler alert: They didn’t.

According to the filing, Titan started hiring people — real live humans who showed up to work, punched clocks, and presumably spilled coffee in break rooms — but never once said, “Hey Kruse, meet Dave. He’s lifting boxes all day and could totally throw his back out. Please insure him.” Nope. Radio silence. No notifications. No time sheets. Nothing. It was like they thought Kruse ran a magical employee insurance cloak that automatically protected anyone within 50 feet of a worksite.

Then, as fate and physics would have it, some of these unreported workers got injured on the job. Again, not shocking — people get hurt working. But here’s where it gets juicy: when the workers’ comp claims came in, someone had to pay. And guess what? Titan hadn’t bought insurance for these mystery employees. They weren’t covered under Kruse’s policy because Kruse didn’t know they existed. So who got stuck with the bill?

Kruse.

That’s right — the company that played by the rules, kept the books clean, and probably sends thank-you notes after Zoom meetings — suddenly found itself on the hook for medical bills, lost wages, and legal headaches from injuries it never agreed to cover. Because Titan Staffing either forgot, ignored, or actively decided that workers’ comp was optional — like skipping the extended warranty on a used car and then acting surprised when the transmission explodes.

Now, let’s be clear: workers’ comp isn’t just some nice-to-have perk. In Oklahoma, it’s the law. Companies are required to protect their workers. And if you subcontract or outsource labor, you can’t just vanish into the ether when someone gets hurt. But Titan allegedly did exactly that — operated like a corporate ninja, deploying workers into the field while staying off the insurance grid.

Kruse says, “We warned you. The contract said you had to tell us who you were hiring. It said you had to maintain your own coverage for anyone we didn’t know about. You didn’t do either. Now we’re paying for your shortcuts — and we want our money back.”

And not just a little bit. We’re talking over $75,000 in damages. Is that a lot? For a small business, absolutely. That’s not chump change — that’s payroll for multiple employees, a new roof for the office, or enough legal fees to make your accountant weep. For failing to do basic paperwork and buy a required insurance policy, Titan may now owe more than triple the average annual deductible for a small business health plan. And again — this isn’t speculative. People got hurt. Claims were filed. Checks were cut. And Kruse is not thrilled about being the designated patsy.

So why are they in court? Legally, Kruse is making two big arguments. First: Breach of Contract — a fancy way of saying, “You signed a piece of paper with promises, and you broke every single one.” Specifically, Titan failed to report employees, failed to submit time sheets, and failed to carry their own insurance for workers outside the agreement. That’s not just sloppy — it’s a direct violation of the contract they willingly entered.

Second claim: Alter Ego / Piercing the Corporate Veil — which sounds like a Marvel villain origin story, but in legal terms, it means “Jonas Purisch and Titan Staffing are basically the same person, so don’t hide behind the company like it’s a cardboard cutout.” Kruse is arguing that Purisch ran Titan so loosely — letting it fall out of good standing in Maryland, failing to secure basic insurance — that the company isn’t really a separate entity anymore. It’s just an extension of him. And if the company can’t pay, he should.

That’s a bold move — piercing the corporate veil is not easy. Courts usually respect the separation between a person and their business, unless there’s serious misconduct. But if Purisch really did treat Titan like a personal piggy bank — skipping insurance, ignoring compliance, letting the business go dormant — then yeah, the court might say, “Sorry, Jonas, you can’t wear the ‘corporation’ mask when it’s convenient.”

Now, here’s our take: the most absurd part of this whole mess isn’t even the injury claims. It’s the sheer laziness of it all. This wasn’t some complex financial scheme or offshore shell game. This was basic adulting: report your workers. Buy insurance. Follow the contract. It’s like showing up to a potluck and eating everyone’s food but bringing a bag of stale chips you found in your car. Rude? Yes. But also, kind of pathetic.

We’re not rooting for blood. We’re not saying someone should go to jail. But come on — if you’re running a staffing company, you know people get hurt on jobsites. That’s why workers’ comp exists. To act surprised when an injury happens is either willful ignorance or outright negligence. And now Kruse — the company that did everything right — is stuck cleaning up the mess.

So as this case unfolds in Tulsa County District Court, we’ll be watching closely. Will Titan Staffing finally face consequences? Will Jonas Purisch have to open his personal wallet? Or will this whole thing vanish into the legal void like so many unpaid invoices?

One thing’s for sure: when you play fast and loose with employee safety and contractual obligations, eventually, the bill comes due. And sometimes, it arrives with interest — and attorneys’ fees.