Ruvalcaba, Irineo

Applicant Irineo Ruvalcaba alleged three injuries (to fingers, hands, and psyche) while purportedly working for Octavio Martinez dba Nieves Tires, an uninsured employer, with UEBTF as a defendant. The WCJ issued a Joint F&O finding no employer-employee relationship, concluding under the Borello factors that applicant was an independent contractor. The WCAB granted reconsideration, finding the WCJ erred by applying the independent-contractor exclusion without first determining whether applicant met his burden of proving he rendered service to Nieves so as to trigger the section 3357 employment presumption. The Board emphasized that employee status under sections 3351 and 3357 must be established before any exclusion analysis, and the record contained gaps as to what service, if any, applicant rendered for defendant's benefit. The Board rescinded the F&O and remanded for the WCJ to determine employment status in the first instance and develop the record as necessary.