Land

A university student is injured during the field portion of a class in animal husbandry. Is she entitled to workers’ compensation benefits? The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board ruled that the student was not an “employee” at the time of her injury and not entitled to benefits. We agree and deny the petition for review.

Facts

Nicole Land was a full-time student at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). She enrolled in an elective course in animal husbandry. The class provided practical, hands-on experience in commercial cattle breeding. The course was administered by Cal Poly Foundation, a nonprofit corporation (Foundation). The animals, tools and equipment for the class were provided by the Foundation. Land paid tuition to attend the year-long class and earned two credits per quarter. Three teachers from Cal Poly’s animal science department supervised the students.

Each of the 19 students in the class signed a “student agricultural enterprise agreement” as a condition of being accepted into the class. The agreement required the students to keep a log of time spent doing course work. A student logging at least 70 hours during the year…