A volunteer nurse's aid for a non profit hospital injures her back lifting a patient. The injury is:

• A. Not compensable.
• B. Not compensable due to volunteer status.
• C. Compesable because as a volunteer he received free lunches.
• D. Compensable if the Board of Directors declares volunteers be deemed employees in writing prior to the injury.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that workers’ compensation coverage in California is tied to an employee-employer relationship. Volunteers are not employees, so injuries they sustain while performing volunteer duties are generally not compensable under workers’ compensation. In this scenario, the nurse’s aid is volunteering for a nonprofit hospital, so her back injury from lifting a patient isn’t covered just because she’s helping out. Perks like free lunches don’t convert a volunteer into an employee for workers’ comp purposes, and a board’s written declaration that volunteers are to be treated as employees does not automatically create eligibility for workers’ compensation. Thus, the injury is not compensable due to the volunteer status.