State Compensation Insurance Fund v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

Opinion

ALLPORT, J.

Petitioner, the compensation insurer, contends that respondent Norma Jo Bate, the applicant in the underlying compensation proceeding, was not an employee at the time of her injury.

The compensation judge characterized her as a “substitute” employee and held her injury compensable by analogy to Laeng v. Workmen’s Comp. Appeals Bd., 6 Cal.3d 771 [100 Cal.Rptr. 377, 494 P.2d 1]. The appeals board concurred without further comment.

The evidence as to respondent’s employment status consisted entirely of her testimony and a report of earnings supplied by the alleged employer,…