Perkins, Leamon

Applicant Leamon Perkins claimed injury to his head, neck, both upper extremities, and both arms on September 11, 2015 while working as a laborer/handyman for Don Luis Knox and DLK Capital, Inc. The central dispute was whether applicant was an employee or independent contractor under the S.G. Borello standard. The Appeals Board had previously found that applicant established a prima facie case of employment by proving he provided services for hire, thereby shifting the burden to defendants to prove independent contractor status, and remanded for development of the record on the Borello factors. On remand, both parties declined to submit additional evidence despite encouragement from the WCJ, who then issued findings relying on the burden shift rather than clearly explaining how he applied the available evidence to the Borello factors. The Board rescinded the F&O again and returned the matter to the trial level because the WCJ failed to comply with Labor Code section 5313 by not stating how, if at all, he applied the evidence to the Borello factors.