3 Stonedeggs, Inc. v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS

The employer is a mobile food service that contracts with the U.S. Forest Service to provide meals for firefighters and supporting personnel. Nanez, 19 years of age, began working for the employer as a food service worker on September 11, 2020, at a fire camp in Brownsville, California. Jesse Rice, the employer’s general manager, asked Nanez whether he would prefer to commute to the site and work either the AM or PM shift or stay on site and work both shifts. Nanez chose to stay on site as he was hoping to get as many hours as possible. Rice informed Nanez that alcohol and drugs were not allowed at any time while working or before working. While at Brownsville, Nanez wanted to go to his home in Chico for a day to do laundry and grab some more clothes. James Todd, one of the employer’s Brownsville camp managers, told Nanez he could leave after breakfast and return the following afternoon. Nanez left for the night, but he returned the following morning at around 4:30 a.m. This meant he would have left his house at around 3:00 a.m. Todd had a “big safety conversation” with Nanez. He told Nanez the roads into the camp were dark and windy, and he…