Stephen Amos — ADJ12002549

Stephen Amos, a 20-year-old construction laborer, was injured on August 1, 2018 when his right hand was pushed into a front loader bucket blade while moving rebar for a woodshed construction project. The WCJ found that the Luchetti Children's Trust (through its trustees) was his employer, that he was a residential employee under Labor Code §3351(d), that he was not an 'excluded employee' under §3352(a)(8), and that no general/special employment relationship existed with Jeff Luchetti's construction companies. Defendant Markel Insurance Company sought reconsideration, arguing primarily that a trust cannot be an employer under Portico Management Group and Labor Code §3300, and that the Luchetti Ranch Partnership rather than the Trust was the employer. The WCAB adopted the WCJ's report and denied reconsideration, giving great weight to the WCJ's credibility determinations under Garza. The Board concluded the Trust's trustees, who held title to the residential property, were the proper employer and that the woodshed was built for the benefit of the residents of the dwelling.