Arango Pacheco, Luis Rene

Applicant, a painter and construction laborer, claims to have sustained industrial injury to his neck, left shoulder, left elbow, left wrist, and low back on June 18, 2002, after falling off a ladder while painting a patio cover at a residential dwelling. The WCJ found the homeowners (the Vickreys) were excluded as employers under Labor Code section 3352 because applicant worked fewer than 52 hours at the residence, and found that David Culbertson, the licensed general contractor, employed applicant. Culbertson sought reconsideration, arguing he too should be excluded as a residential employer. The Board rejected this argument, holding that the residential employment exclusions under sections 3351, 3352, and 3715 apply only to the owner or occupant of the dwelling, which Culbertson was not. The Board rescinded the F&O to clarify that the Vickreys were not employers and to clean up the findings, but otherwise affirmed that Culbertson employed applicant, and returned the matter to the trial level.