SIGNATURE FRUIT COMPANY v. WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARD
Filed 8/31/06
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
| SIGNATURE FRUIT COMPANY et al., Petitioners, v. WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARD and EVA OCHOA, Respondents. |
F048255
(WCAB STK 186410)
OPINION |
ORIGINAL PROCEEDINGS; petition for writ of review. William K. O'Brien, Frank M. Bass, and Janice Jamison Murray, Commissioners.
Mullen & Filippi, Paula E. White for Petitioners.
Esequiel Solorio for Respondent Eva Ochoa.
No appearance for Respondent Workers' Compensation Appeals Board.
-ooOoo-
Signature Fruit Company petitions this court to review a decision of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board awarding one of its seasonal employees, Eva Ochoa, temporary disability benefits. We recognize that, effective January 1, 2003, an amendment to the workers' compensation laws established a minimum level of average weekly earnings. This case presents a unique twist to what otherwise might be a fairly simple calculation. The parties stipulated that Ochoa would be employed only during the season, from July 29 through September 9, 2003. The record supports the stipulation by revealing that Ochoa could only recall working as a seasonal employee with Signature Fruit Company in recent years. Under these unique circumstances, we conclude that Ochoa is not entitled to receive temporary disability payments for a time when there is no question that she would not have been working and earning income--whether injured or not.
To illustrate the point, we will assume Ochoa remained temporarily disabled throughout all of 2004. If she did, the WCAB's award would result in her receiving well over 200 percent of her regular annual income for a time when there is no question that she would not have been working. In enacting workers' compensation reform, we do not believe the Legislature intended this result. That said, our decision is a narrow one. We express no opinion on calculating a seasonal employee's off-season temporary disability where the employee maintains off-season earnings below the minimum average weekly earnings rate.
PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL HISTORIES
Eva Ochoa worked as a seasonal sanitation worker for Signature Fruit Company (Signature) since 1998. The parties stipulated that (1) Ochoa's 2003 employment â€
