Zenith Insurance Co. v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd.

I. BACKGROUND

Zenith does not dispute the underlying facts found in this case, but rather the legal conclusions the Board drew from the factual findings that were made. At the time of the accident, Hernandez was employed as a farm laborer by Ceja Reyes, Inc., a farm labor contractor located in Woodland. Ceja Reyes provides agricultural workers to businesses that need them. During his employment with Ceja Reyes, Hernandez was only assigned to work at one site in Winters, which was approximately 60 miles from his home in Yuba City. Ceja Reyes does not provide transportation to its employees. Its employment contract with Hernandez specified that it did not make transportation arrangements, did not recommend any type of transportation, and Hernandez was solely responsible for his transportation.

2 Hernandez testified that he does not have a driver’s license, does not own a car, and does not drive. He said there was no “reasonable public transportation” that would have taken him from his home to the jobsite. Another Ceja Reyes employee arranged the vanpool that Hernandez used to travel to and from work as a personal side business independent of their employer. To motivate workers to…