“ Special Mission ” Exception Not Applied To “ Going And Coming Rule. ”

Under the going and coming rule, travel to and from work ordinarily is not considered within the course and scope of employment, but travel undertaken as part of a special mission is. Here a prison employee would have ordinarily left work and traveled home after his regular shift ended at 10:00 p.m. on a Friday night, but he was held over to work another shift, which did not end until 6:00 Saturday morning. On the way home after that extra shift, he was killed in a car accident. His family claimed workers’ compensation benefits and contended that because he worked an extra shift, the special mission exception applied. The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) denied the application for benefits, determining that the hold-over shift was not extraordinary because, among other things, it was assigned in accordance with procedures agreed upon by the prison administration and the officers’ union and did not dramatically change his activities. The appellate court affirmed, stating: “We conclude the WCAB’s decision involved weighing evidence and choosing among conflicting inferences that could be drawn from that evidence and, therefore, is properly characterized as a finding of fact. Under the standards for judicial review established by the Labor Code, we must uphold the finding of fact that the hold-over shift was not extraordinary because it is supported by substantial evidence.” (Lantz v. Worker’s Compensation Appeals Board (Cal. App. Fifth; May 19, 2014) (As mod. June 9, 2014)226 Cal.App.4th 298.)