A.L.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Facts

A. The regional center and its transportation vendor Harbor Developmental Disabilities Foundation (the Regional Center) is a nonprofit entity that has functioned as a regional center under the Act for over three decades. Round Trip Transportation, Inc. (Round Trip), is a private company that transports developmentally disabled persons between their homes and the services they need. In 2018, Round Trip’s four central office employees oversaw 70 or 80 drivers who drove its fleet of GPS-tracked buses, each of which could accommodate 15 passengers and transported 700 to 800 consumers of various regional centers each day. Round Trip hired Ezequiel Ocampo (Ocampo) as a driver in 2013; Round Trip ran a criminal background check on Ocampo when he was initially hired and every year thereafter; all came back clean. In July 2015, the Regional Center entered into a three-year contract with Round Trip to provide transportation services for its consumers. The contract designated Round Trip as an “independent contractor,” but obligated Round Trip to “employ, train and retain the required number of drivers, aides, dispatchers and administrative…