Double D Hop Ranch v. SanchezDouble D Hop Ranch v. Sanchez
Eduardo Sanchez worked as a farm laborer and was laid off for approximately the same few months each year. He challenges a Court of Appeals decision affirming his employment classification as “exclusively seasonal in nature” for purposes of workers’ compensation. In some cases, including employment that is “exclusively seasonal in nature,” time-loss benefits are based on average monthly wages earned over a previous 12-month period. In cases where such income averaging does not apply, time-loss benefits are based on monthly wages the worker was receiving at the time of injury. Sanchez argues that his employment is not “exclusively seasonal in nature.” We agree. The Court of Appeals decision is reversed and this matter is remanded to the Department of Labor and Industries (Department) for reclassification.
FACTS
Sanchez began working at Double D Hop Ranch (Double D) as a general laborer in 1988. In 1988, he worked from May through October. In 1989, he worked from February to early November. In 1990, he worked from February to November 9, when he was injured at work. Early in the year Sanchez would plant hops, pull and spray weeds, hoe, and dig. In the spring, he would repair twine, train vines on the twine, dig irrigation ditches, and drive a backhoe, loader, and water truck. During the fall harvest, he would pick hops and drive a truck. After the harvest, he would spread fertilizer, replace posts, and check wires and machinery. Historically, there was no work available for Sanchez at Double D from late November through late February of each year.
The Department classified Sanchez‘s employment as “exclusively seasonal in nature” and based his time-loss benefits on his average wages over a previous 12-month period pursuant to
The Board reversed the Department and held that Sanchez‘s employment was not exclusively seasonal in nature. The Board remanded the claim to the Department with directions to calculate Sanchez‘s time-loss benefits based on his monthly wages at the time of injury pursuant to
ANALYSIS
We review the Board‘s interpretation of the Industrial Insurance Act de novo to determine whether it has erroneously interpreted or applied the law.2 Deference to an agency‘s interpretation of a statute is appropriate when the agency is charged with administering the statute.3 However, deference is inappropriate when the agency interpretation conflicts with the statute.4 At issue is the Board‘s interpretation of
(1) For the purposes of this title, the monthly wages the worker was receiving from all employment at the time of injury shall be the basis upon which compensation is computed unless otherwise provided specifically in the statute concerned....
. . . .
(2) In cases where (a) the worker‘s employment is exclusively seasonal in nature or (b) the worker‘s current employment or his or her relation to his or her employment is essentially part-time or intermittent, the monthly wage shall be determined by dividing by twelve the total wages earned, including overtime, from all employment in any twelve successive calendar months preceding the injury which fairly represent the claimant‘s employment pattern.
The primary objective of statutory construction is to carry out the Legislature‘s intent.5 The purpose of time-loss compensation is to reflect a worker‘s lost earning capacity.6 Therefore, we should construe
In its decision below, the Board defined “seasonal” employment as “work which is dependent on a season of a year.”8 In ruling that Sanchez‘s employment was not “exclusively seasonal in nature,” the Board reasoned:
... Mr. Sanchez worked most, if not all, of three seasons of the year (spring, summer, and fall), and even worked a portion of the winter season. Such a worker as Mr. Sanchez, whose work is such that it transcends the seasons and is clearly not defined by the seasons, cannot have such work classified as “exclusively seasonal in nature.“[9]
Sanchez urges us to adopt the Board‘s definition of “seasonal,” which is limited to the four calendar seasons of the year. He reasons that since his work overlapped some of the boundaries of the calendar seasons, his employment could not have been dependent on a single season.
Sanchez has offered no reason why the Legislature would intend that an alternative wage calculation method be applied to persons whose work happened to fall exclusively within the boundaries of one of the four calendar seasons, but not to those whose work overlapped these boundaries yet still fell short of year-round employment. Under the Board‘s definition of “seasonal employment,” two fruit pickers working in the summer would be classified differently if one of them happened to work one day past the autumnal equinox. We can discern no reason
The Department, on the other hand, reads “seasonal” as being dependent on a “season” in the broader sense of the word. It is commonly understood that there is a holiday season, a baseball season, and growing seasons for crops. This broader concept of “season” is consistent with the most applicable dictionary definition of “season,” which is “a period of the year set off or conceived of as set off by a particular and usu[ally] high level of activity in some field (as social, cultural, or business).”11 More importantly, this broader definition furthers the legislative intent to base time-loss benefits on a worker‘s lost earning capacity, since the earning capacity of a worker whose employment is for a period of less than a full year is better represented by wage averaging. We hold that “seasonal” employment for purposes of
In order for Sanchez‘s employment to have been “exclusively seasonal in nature,” the nature of his employment would have to have been entirely dependent on a period of the year that is characterized by a particular activity. Some of Sanchez‘s work, like planting and picking hops, was dependent on the hop growing season. However, Sanchez also performed general farm labor, like maintenance and repair work, and Double D concedes that it employs general laborers to perform similar tasks year round. Sanchez‘s employment, therefore, cannot be said to have been exclusively seasonal in nature. Thus, although the Board‘s definition of “seasonal” is too narrow, the Board correctly determined that Sanchez‘s employment was not exclusively seasonal in nature for purposes of
We note, however, that the Board erred in ordering Sanchez‘s employment classified under
Although Sanchez‘s employment is not exclusively seasonal in nature, it is yet unresolved whether his “employment or his ... relation to his ... employment is essentially part-time or intermittent” and therefore subject to wage averaging under
The Court of Appeals is reversed and the decision of the Board is modified and remanded to the Department for reclassification.12 Pursuant to
DOLLIVER, GUY, TALMADGE and SANDERS, JJ., concur.
JOHNSON, Justice (concurring in part, dissenting in part).
This case presents the question of whether a general labor farmworker can be classified as an exclusively seasonal worker under
The general rule is established under
The Industrial Insurance Act is remedial in nature and its beneficial purpose should be liberally construed in favor of the beneficiaries. Sacred Heart Med. Ctr. v. Department of Labor & Indus., 92 Wash.2d 631, 635, 600 P.2d 1015 (1979); Wilber v. Department of Labor & Indus., 61 Wash.2d 439, 446, 378 P.2d 684 (1963). The purpose of the Industrial Insurance Act is to compensate employees for lost earning capacity based on wages at the time of injury. The specific purpose of
In contrast,
While the majority reaches the correct result, I feel obligated to emphasize we are not alone in our definition of an exclusively seasonal employee. Case law from other jurisdictions supports the majority‘s analysis of the statute and the conclusion that Sanchez is not an “exclusively seasonal employee.” These jurisdictions find seasonal employment refers to occupations and tasks which can be carried on only at certain seasons or fairly definite portions of the year. Seasonal employment does not include such occupations which may be carried on throughout the entire year. In Nilson v. Clay County, 534 N.W.2d 598 (S.D.1995), the issue before the court was whether an election judge‘s benefits should be calculated under seasonal employment since the election judge was required to perform services only when an election was held. Nilson, 534 N.W.2d at 601. The court held because an election could arise at any time throughout the year, the position is not dependent upon the seasons. Nilson, 534 N.W.2d at 601. Similarly, in Murillo v. Payroll Express, 120 N.M. 333, 901 P.2d 751 (1995), the court was asked to determine if logging was seasonal employment. Murillo, 120 N.M. at 342, 901 P.2d 751. The court stated seasonal employment refers to labor which can be carried on only at certain seasons or regularly recurring periods throughout the year. Murillo, 120 N.M. at 342, 901 P.2d 751. The court went on to say seasonal employment does not include activities which can be carried on essentially year round despite occasional interruptions. The court held logging was not seasonal employment despite the lack of work when the forest roads were closed due to wet conditions or logging stopped because the forest was dangerously dry creating a high risk of fire. Murillo, 120 N.M. at 342, 901 P.2d 751. Finally, in Pacey v. Industrial Comm‘n, 93 Ariz. 1, 377 P.2d 1015 (1963), the issue before the court was whether evidence supported the commission‘s finding that work as a welder‘s helper was limited to six months out of the year. The court found because the worker had a trade or skill customarily used throughout the very large construction industry, there was no real basis for the claim that the worker was restricted to work opportunities in the pipeline construction industry only. Pacey, 93 Ariz. at 3-4, 377 P.2d 1015. I do not suggest we blindly follow these other jurisdictions, but acknowledging the consistency in interpreting a similar statute strengthens our holding.
Our mandate, as stated above, is to construe the statute for the benefit of the injured
I disagree with the majority‘s decision to remand this case to the Department for a determination of whether Sanchez’ employment is part-time or intermittent because the parties have not addressed these issues and remand is not necessary. The majority erroneously reasons the Board‘s classification of Sanchez under the general rule prohibited the Department from determining whether Sanchez fit under other exceptions. The Department had the initial opportunity to determine whether Sanchez should be classified as an intermittent or part-time employee under
ALEXANDER, MADSEN and SMITH, JJ., concur.