Homeowner Claims Cheat Sheet

• Publication year: 2021
• Author: H. Neal Wells IV, Esq.

Homeowner Claims Cheat Sheet

H. Neal Wells IV, Esq.

Calabasas, California

Use this article as a quick pointer to code sections and court decisions of relevance in homeowner claims involving various issues.

Residential Employee Statutes

Employee Defined/Labor Code Section 3351(d): A residential employee includes any person employed by the owner or occupant of a residential dwelling whose duties involve the use or maintenance of the dwelling or care of children or whose duties are not connected with the trade, business, or occupation of the owner or occupant and is not otherwise excluded under wage/hour requirements of Labor Code section 3352(a)(8).

Employee Family Exclusion/Labor Code Section 3352(a)(1): An individual who qualifies as an employee under Labor Code section 3351(d) is excluded if they were employed by their own parent, spouse, or child.

Employee Wage & Hour Exclusion/Labor Code Section 3352(a)(8): An individual who qualifies as a residential employee under Labor Code section 3351(d) is excluded if they did not work or were not contracted (added in 2017) to work at least 52 hours and earn $100 during the 90 calendar days immediately preceding the injury.

Trade/Business Defined/Labor Code Sections 3355 and 3356: "Trade" and "business" refer to tending to the preservation, maintenance, or operation of the employer's business or business property; it includes a business the employer is engaged in with some degree of regularity (that is, a main income source). (See Stewart v. WCAB (1985) 50 Cal.Comp.Cases 524, 526.)

Uninsured Owner/Labor Code Section 3708: An injury is presumed to be the result of employer negligence if the employer failed to secure work comp coverage, but the presumption is inapplicable if the worker qualified as a Labor Code section 3351(d) residential employee. (Note that the presumption does apply if the employee fails to meet Labor Code section 3351 requirements (Jones v. Sorenson (2018) 83 Cal.Comp.Cases 1397) or is a domestic worker under Labor Code section 3715(b).)

Uninsured Owner/Labor Code Section 3715(b): A worker of an uninsured homeowner is an "employee" if they work at the home more than 52 hours weekly, is a part-time gardener working over 44 hours monthly, or work is contemplated to last at least ten working days. (See Hestehauge below.)

Miscellaneous Related Statutes

Postings/Labor Code Section 3550(c): The California state laws regarding posting requirements do not apply to residential employment.

A.W.W./Labor Code...