Santos, Ciel

Applicant Ciel Santos filed for an August 19, 2021 injury alleging employment by Avellino Labs USA (insured by Hartford). Avellino joined Gava Talent Solutions LLC (insured by Everest) as a defendant, claiming Gava was the general employer and Avellino the special employer, and argued the WCJ erred in finding Avellino was applicant's employer without resolving Gava's status. The WCJ found Avellino was applicant's employer and that injury arose AOE/COE, deferring the general/special employment dispute. The Board granted reconsideration and affirmed the F&A, amending Finding 1 to use the statutory AOE/COE language under Labor Code section 3600 and adding Finding 4 to expressly defer the issue of whether Gava was an employer. The Board held that finding Avellino an employer does not preclude later finding Gava also an employer under dual employment principles, and applicant need not await resolution of the inter-defendant dispute to obtain benefits.