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Summary of
Opinion
Michael Rash
was employed as a
member of the mounted patrol. Members
were required to supply their own horses certified for mounted duty and
to be
on call 24 hours. Although the mounted
deputies received some reimbursement from the expenses keeping a
patrol-ready
horse it was not 100%. Rash accepted an
assignment to be on patrol during the rodeo and in preparation he took
his
horse to his shoeing class. On the
return he was struck head on and seriously injured.
He filed a Workers’ Compensation claim but
was denied. Holds that the injury
occurred while Rash was returning from a special mission and therefore
arose out of his employment.
Text of Opinion
Petitioning this court from
a decision of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) denying
compensation benefits, a sheriff's deputy asks whether the injuries he
sustained while returning from a college horseshoeing course to prepare
his
privately owned horse for
mounted duty arose out of and in the course of his employment. We agree
with
the deputy and conclude that his injuries were industrially related
given the
unique terms of his employment arrangement. We therefore annul the
decision of
the WCAB and remand for further proceedings to award appropriate
workers'
compensation benefits.
PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL HISTORIES
Michael Rash worked as a deputy with the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department (Department). As a member of the Department's horse-mounted unit, Rash was required to privately own, care for, train, and transport a horse certified for mounted duty to be available for Department service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Mounted deputies in the Department engage in patrol duty, perform search and rescues, work on reservoirs, and engage in public-relations events. They also receive a 2.5 percent stipend over their regular salary and have increased opportunities for paid training and overtime. Additional horse-related expenses, such as official tack, animal vaccinations, and farrier fees, are often reimbursed by the “Posse,” a voluntary charitable organization of mounted officers. Its primary purpose is to support the Department's equine activities.
Lieutenant James Silva is a commander in the Department and a member of the mounted unit. He adopted a constant shoeing requirement so that horses approved for mounted duty would be ready at a moment's notice. To replace horseshoes, farriers in the Stanislaus area either travel to the horse or ask the owner to bring the horse to the farrier. Local farrier fees range from $50 to $125, and the Posse reimburses members up to $75 for horseshoeing as often as needed. According to reserve deputy Michael Wagner, treasurer of the Posse for 20 years, most horses require shoeing every four to six weeks, but Rash stopped seeking horseshoeing reimbursement from the Posse after October 24, 2004.
Lieutenant Silva and his
wife signed up for a horseshoeing class at
Department Sergeant Giles New called Rash on Monday, April 4, 2005, and they agreed Rash would cover a shift of another mounted deputy at the Oakdale Rodeo the following Saturday and Sunday. Later that afternoon, Rash examined his horse certified for mounted duty, Indian, and discovered its right rear shoe was missing. Rash decided to shoe Indian at the horseshoeing class because he believed it would be quicker and more reliable than what he described as the “chaos” he would have had to undergo to try to schedule a farrier in time for the rodeo.
While off duty on Wednesday
morning, Rash brought Indian and two of his other horses
to the
Rash loaded the horses in his privately owned truck and trailer at the end of Wednesday's class and on the way home went to lunch in Merced approximately one mile from the college. Following lunch, Rash was driving along Route J-59 when another vehicle struck him head-on. As a result of the accident, Rash filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits alleging injury to “multiple body parts,” including both legs.
The Department concluded
that Rash's injuries were not employment-related and denied his claim
for
workers' compensation benefits. Following hearings in March and May
2006, a workers'
compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) agreed with the Department
and
concluded that Rash's automobile accident was not a compensable injury
and
therefore he was not entitled to workers' compensation benefits. Rash
petitioned for reconsideration, which the WCAB denied by adopting and
incorporating the reasoning from the WCJ's report and recommendation.
DISCUSSION
An employer is liable for workers' compensation benefits only where an employee sustains an injury “arising out of and in the course of the employment....” (Lab.Code, § 3600, subd. (a) .) “ ‘This two-pronged requirement is the cornerstone of the workers' compensation system.’ “ (LaTourette v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (1998) 17 Cal.4th 644, 650, 72 Cal.Rptr.2d 217, 951 P.2d 1184 (LaTourette ).)
An injury “ ‘ “arise[s] out of” ‘ “ employment when there is a causal link between the injury and the job. (LaTourette, supra, 17 Cal.4th at p. 651, 72 Cal.Rptr.2d 217, 951 P.2d 1184.) In other words, the injury must have been sustained while performing a particular act reasonably contemplated by the employment; accordingly, “ ‘ “the nature of the act, the nature of the employment, the custom and usage of a particular employment, the terms of the contract of employment, and perhaps other factors should be considered.” ‘ “ (Ibid.)
Occurring “ ‘ “in the course of” ‘ “ the employment ordinarily refers to the time, place, and circumstances of an injury. (LaTourette, supra, 17 Cal.4th at p. 651, 72 Cal.Rptr.2d 217, 951 P.2d 1184.) “ ‘Thus, “ ‘[a]n employee is in the “course of his employment” when he does those reasonable things which his contract with his employment expressly or impliedly permits him to do.’ “ ‘ “ (Ibid.) Similarly, “ ‘an employee acts within the course of his employment when “ ‘performing a duty imposed upon him by his employer and one necessary to perform before the terms of the contract [are] mutually satisfied.’ “ ‘ “ (Ibid.) “The rationale is that the employee is still acting in furtherance of the employer's business.” (Wright v. Beverly Fabrics, Inc. (2002) 95 Cal.App.4th 346, 354, 115 Cal.Rptr.2d 503.) “The combination of a personal act performed outside of regular working hours with the performance of acts in furtherance of the employer's business does not defeat a finding that the employee was acting in the course of his or her employment.” (Id. at pp. 354-355, 115 Cal.Rptr.2d 503.)
In determining whether an
injury arises out of and in the course of employment, the judicially
created
“going and coming” rule generally precludes workers' compensation
recovery for
injuries sustained during a local commute en route to a fixed place of
business
at fixed hours. (Hinojosa
v. Workmen's Comp. Appeals Bd.
(1972) 8 Cal.3d 150, 157, 104 Cal.Rptr. 456, 501 P.2d 1176 (Hinojosa ).) The rule is based on the
notion that
an employee usually does not render services for the benefit of the
employer
while traveling to and from work. (City
of San Diego v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd.
(2001) 89 Cal.App.4th 1385, 1388, 108 Cal.Rptr.2d 510.) Exceptions to the going-and-coming rule exist,
however, “
‘where the trip involves an incidental benefit to the employer, not
common to
commute trips by ordinary members of the work force.’
“ (Hinojosa,
supra,
8 Cal.3d at p. 158, 104 Cal.Rptr. 456, 501 P.2d 1176.) As a result, “[w]hen an employee engages in a
special
activity that is within the course of employment, an injury suffered
during the
activity or while traveling to and from the place of such activity also
arises
out of the employment.” (LaTourette,
supra,
17 Cal.4th at p. 652, 72 Cal.Rptr.2d 217, 951 P.2d 1184.) This type of activity is also known as a “
‘special
mission,’ “ where “ ‘ “[s]pecial” means extraordinary in relation to
routine
duties, not outside the scope of the employment.’ “
In
a supplemental briefing request, we asked the parties whether, assuming
Rash's
commute home from
(Hinojosa, supra, 8 Cal.3d at p. 159, 104 Cal.Rptr. 456, 501 P.2d 1176.)
An employee performs services arising out of and in the course of employment “ ‘when he engages in conduct reasonably directed toward the fulfillment of his employer's requirements, performed for the benefit and advantage of the employer.” “ (Garzoli v. Workmens' Comp.App. Bd. (1970) 2 Cal.3d 502, 506, 86 Cal.Rptr. 1, 467 P.2d 833.) The burden of proving that an injury arose out of and in the course of employment falls on the employee and generally presents a question of fact to be determined in light of the circumstances. (Pettigrew v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2006) 143 Cal.App.4th 397, 405, 48 Cal.Rptr.3d 922; Wright v. Beverly Fabrics, Inc., supra, 95 Cal.App.4th at p. 353, 115 Cal.Rptr.2d 503.) However, where, as here, the pertinent facts are not in dispute, resolution of the question becomes a matter of law subject to de novo appellate review. (Dimmig v. Workmen's Comp. Appeals Bd. (1972) 6 Cal.3d 860, 864, 101 Cal.Rptr. 105, 495 P.2d 433.) “In resolving this issue, we are guided by the Legislature's command in section 3202 that workers' compensation laws ‘be liberally construed by the courts with the purpose of extending their benefits for the protection of persons injured in the course of their employment.’ “ (Wright v. Beverly Fabrics, Inc. supra, at p. 353, 115 Cal.Rptr.2d 503.)
Reasserting the same arguments raised before the WCAB on reconsideration, Rash contends he received “average justice” instead of “individual justice” because the WCAB concluded that his injury occurred outside the course of his employment. As adopted by the WCAB, the WCJ explained that Rash presented “an interesting and compelling set of circumstances” that posed a difficult question whether the injury was compensable. After noting that the injury did not occur while Rash was on regular duty with the Department, the WCJ reasoned:
“In the opinion of this WCJ, even though Mr. Rash had a personal interest in the equine hobby, it is unlikely that he would have taken this particular college course, when he did, were it not for his employment and obviously, he would almost certainly not have had Indian with him at the class on that date were it not for his job as a mounted sheriff. Thus, as this WCJ sees these facts, and readily acknowledging that others might see them differently, what brought Mr. Rash onto highway J-59 on 4/6/05 at the moment of his head-on collision was a combination of both his personal interests and his job duties. Had he not been a mounted officer, this WCJ simply cannot believe that he would have been where he was, when he was, on 4/6/05. This WCJ believes that Mr. Rash's injury occurred AOE [arising out of employment].”
The WCJ continued:
“What Mr. Rash was doing is really quite clear from the evidence presented at trial. He was performing an activity that benefited his employer. He was doing so on that day, at that time, because of a request by Deputy New that he fill in for another deputy who had backed out on short notice from the upcoming weekend's Oakdale Rodeo. He was performing on that date an activity that was absolutely required if he was to attend that following weekend's rodeo-he was having Indian shod.”
“In the end, the critical distinction in this WCJ's mind is whether an employee may, through his own decisions and his own acts, create a special mission that his employer did not request, demand or condone in some reasonably direct manner. This WCJ does not believe this to be the case. Applicant has presented no authority for the proposition that an employee, quite obviously acting in furtherance of his employer's interests and toward the end of an upcoming special event, may unilaterally and of his own volition elect a course of behavior that results in an injury and thereby ‘create his own’ special mission and this WCJ's review of the cases and deskbook authority fails to reveal any such authority. [¶ ] ... [¶ ]
“In summary, given
that the employer did not
in any direct manner allow, encourage, condone or pay for the drive to
and from
the college on 4/6/05, in this case and upon the entirety of these
facts, this
WCJ cannot find that Mr. Rash was on a special mission for his employer
when he
was injured. The injury was AOE [arising out of employment] but it was
not COE
[in the course of employment]. Injury must therefore be denied.”
The WCJ further added that he was unconvinced by Rash's argument that Sergeant New's “ ‘last minute’ “ request for him to work at the rodeo that weekend necessitated taking Indian to the horseshoeing class. According to the WCJ, the request was not “last minute” because Department policy mandated that Indian be shod and ready for service “24/7.” Noting that Rash “had not checked Indian's shoe status since the last duty day some 18 days earlier,” the WCJ seemed to place blame on Rash for not having replaced Indian's shoes before receiving the assignment from Sergeant New.
Agreeing with the WCAB's
determination that his injury arose out of his employment, Rash
asks
this court also to consider whether his injury also occurred in the
course
of his employment. The WCJ found that the injury did not occur in
the
course of employment because Rash created his own “special mission that
his
employer did not request, demand or condone in some reasonably direct
manner”
and therefore “unilaterally and of his own volition elect[ed] a course
of
behavior that result[ed] in an injury....” It appears, however, that
the WCAB
failed to consider whether Rash's activity-taking Indian to
It is uncontroverted that Rash's employment arrangement with the Department mandated that, in exchange for a 2.5 percent increase in salary, Rash maintain a privately owned horse certified for official mounted duty. According to the WCJ's summary of evidence, Sergeant New testified that deputies must maintain their mounted duty horses in good health and “shod at all times ... to be available for a 24/7 callout.” When describing why mounted deputies receive eight hours of pay for six hours of training, Sergeant New explained that the added pay is to compensate for the additional time in caring for the horse, such as grooming, checking the equipment, and connecting the trailer. Sergeant New also acknowledged that he spends about an hour and a half of unpaid time even when he meets a farrier on his property to shoe a horse.
Although the WCAB agreed with the WCJ that Rash “ ‘create[d] his own’ special mission” by taking Indian to class to be shod before a mounted assignment, there is no evidence in the record that Rash's actions were beyond the scope of activities contemplated by his employment. To the contrary, the uncontroverted evidence reveals that the Department required its mounted officers to exercise discretion in caring for their horses certified for mounted duty. The witnesses all suggested that Rash was acting well within the parameters of his employment contract. Every witness employed or formerly employed by the Department-Sheriff Wiedman, Lieutenant Silva, Sergeant New, Deputy Wagner, and Rash-confirmed that the duties of an officer in the mounted unit included caring for a horse while off duty to ensure the horse was ready for assignment. Further, nothing in the record remotely suggests that if Rash had asked a supervisor for permission to take Indian to the Merced College class so that the horse could be shod in preparation for the upcoming work-related event that he would have been denied permission to do so. The evidence instead strongly suggests that his request easily would have been approved.
Rash's decision to participate
in the college course, without more, arguably could be considered an
“off-duty
recreational, social, or athletic activity” generally falling outside
the ambit
of workers' compensation coverage. (§ 3600, subd. (a)(9).
FN3.
Section
3600, subdivision (a)(9), provides that
an injury
is compensable “[w]here the injury does not arise out of voluntary
participation in any off-duty recreational, social, or athletic
activity not
constituting part of the employee's work-related duties, except
where these
activities are a reasonable expectancy of, or are expressly or
impliedly
required by, the employment.” (Italics added.)
However, Rash's added conduct on April 6, 2006, of taking Indian to be shod at the class in the most convenient and inexpensive manner in preparation for duty was both a subjectively and objectively reasonable expectancy of his employment as a mounted deputy and was therefore compensable. (See City of Stockton v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2006) 135 Cal.App.4th 1513, 1519-1525, 38 Cal.Rptr.3d 474; Ezzy v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (1983) 146 Cal.App.3d 252, 258-263, 194 Cal.Rptr. 90.) Similarly, under the “ ‘dual purpose’ “ doctrine, “ ‘where the employee is combining his own business with that of his employer, or attending to both at substantially the same time, no nice inquiry will be made as to which business he was actually engaged in at the time of injury, unless it clearly appears that neither directly or indirectly could he have been serving his employer.’ “ (Price v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (1984) 37 Cal.3d 559, 569, 209 Cal.Rptr. 674, 693 P.2d 254.) Although we need not make this type of inquiry, Rash overtly established that he was deliberately acting in furtherance of his employment when he informed the instructor upon his arrival for class on April 6, 2006, that his priority for the day was to shoe Indian for mounted duty that weekend.
Although Rash owned other horses
and maintained a personal
interest in the shoeing class, his commute to and from Merced College
on the
day of his accident indisputably conferred a direct benefit and
advantage to
the Department by both preparing Indian for the upcoming rodeo event
and
meeting the Department's general requirement that the horse
be shod and ready for duty at all times. The Department gave
Rash complete discretion in deciding how to care for his certified horse, and there is no indication in
the record that Rash acted unreasonably or beyond the scope of his
employment
arrangement. We conclude that the injuries Rash sustained while
returning home
from
DISPOSITION
The
WCAB's order denying reconsideration is annulled and the matter is
remanded for
further proceedings consistent with this opinion.