Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) held a distribution event on March 24, 2021 at one of its middle schools for the “Farmers to Families Food Box Program,” which provided fresh food to families negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Catherine Kuo volunteered at this event.
While she was loading a food box into the rear of one vehicle, another vehicle entered the parking lot and pulled up behind. A DUSD employee approached the second car and instructed the driver to open the rear hatch of the vehicle so he could load a food box into the rear cargo area of that vehicle. The driver suddenly drove forward, crushing Kuo between the two vehicles. Kuo was transported to a medical center and died later that day.
Kuo’s family members and estate filed a complaint against DUSD asserting negligence and premises liability causes of action. The complaint alleged that DUSD was negligent by failing to implement basic safety protocols at the event, failing to communicate safety protocols to volunteers and others, and failing to train and/or supervise employees who were organizing and coordinating the event. It also alleged that DUSD had created a dangerous condition of public property by failing to implement such safety protocols.
DUSD moved for summary judgment, arguing that Labor Code section 3364.5 barred plaintiffs’ claims. Section 3364.5 is part of the Workers’ Compensation Act (§ 3201 et seq.). It provides that “a volunteer, unsalaried person authorized by the governing board of a school district or the county superintendent of schools to perform volunteer services for the school district or the county superintendent shall, upon the adoption of a resolution of the governing board of the school district or the county board of education so declaring, be deemed an employee of the district or the county superintendent for the purposes of this division and shall be entitled to the workmen’s compensation benefits provided by this division for any injury sustained by him while engaged in the performance of any service under the direction and control of the governing board of the school district or the county superintendent.” (§ 3364.5.)
In support of its motion, DUSD submitted Resolution 2011/12-30 (Resolution) passed and adopted by its board of trustees in 2012. DUSD also submitted the memorandum of coverage from the Protected Insurance Program for Schools applicable to the time period of the March 24, 2021 incident.
The trial court granted DUSD’s motion for summary judgment. It determined that death “falls into the category of an injury according to its plain meaning.” And while finding no ambiguity in the term, the court noted that the legislative history of the statute – evidencing an intent to provide school volunteers with the same protection as employees – supported this reading. The court concluded that section 3364.5 defeated its jurisdiction. Judgment was entered in favor of DUSD and against plaintiffs.
The Court of Appeal affirmed the summary judgment in the published case of Kuo v. Dublin Unified School Dist – A169912 (March 2025).
This appeal presented two questions of statutory interpretation: whether the term “any injury” covers fatal injuries like the one Kuo sustained here, and whether DUSD volunteers were “deemed” employees under section 3364.5.
The Court of Appeal wrote “Section 3364.5 provides entitlement to workers’ compensation for “any injury” sustained by a school volunteer while engaged in the performance of service. We conclude that fatal injuries unambiguously fall into the category of “any injury” according to its plain meaning.”
Plaintiffs argue that DUSD volunteers were not “deemed” employees under section 3364.5 for two reasons: (1) DUSD’s Resolution did not use the term “deemed,” and (2) DUSD did not treat its volunteers as employees. The Court of Appeal wrote “Neither is persuasive.”
“Nothing in the statute supports plaintiffs’ position that a resolution must explicitly use the word “deemed” to trigger section 3364.5. Section 3364.5 requires only that the governing board adopt a resolution “so declaring.” DUSD did exactly that, adopting a resolution stating, “in accordance with Section 3364.5 of the Labor Code, volunteers shall be entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits for any injury sustained by him/her while in the performance of any service under the direction and control of the District Superintendent.” We do not read into the statute any additional requirement to use magic words, as such an interpretation would defy section 3202’s command that the WCA be liberally construed.”