ESPINOZA v. WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARD STEWART ESPINOZA, Petitioner, v. WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARD and LOS ANGELES COUNTY JAIL, Respondents. On January 17, 2012, the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) found that petitioner Stewart Espinoza, while an inmate of the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail, was not an employee of the County of Los Angeles (County) at the time that he was injured while working as a cook in the jail, and that he was therefore not eligible for workers' compensation benefits. The solution to this problem was the enactment in 1970 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors of an order, referred to hereafter as Order #91, which provides that persons confined in the county jail may be compelled to perform labor under the direction of a county official. Facts Prior to the trial before the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ), Espinoza and County stipulated that Espinoza was working as a cook in the county jail on November 1, 2005 when he sustained an injury to his left shoulder. The parties also stipulated that if Espinoza was found to be County's employee, the injury arose in the course and scope of employment.

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