In this workers’ compensation action, the Superior Court of Fulton County affirmed the State Board of Workers’ Compensation’s denial of Nathan Clarke’s claim for temporary total disability benefits. Clarke appeals,1 contending the court erred in affirming the Administrative Law Judge’s “ALJ” conclusion which the Board had adopted that he was excluded from receiving workers’ compensation benefits. The ALJ reached that conclusion based on its finding that, at the time of Clarke’s accident, he was a prison inmate working for a private employer through the Department of Correction’s work release program and, thus, was not an “employee” under the Workers’ Compensation Act, OCGA § 34-9-1 et seq. Finding no error, we affirm.On appeal, the factual findings of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation must be affirmed by the superior court and by the Court of Appeals when supported by any evidence in the administrative record. However, erroneous applications of law to undisputed facts, as well as decisions based on erroneous theories of law, are subject to the de novo standard of review.Citation, punctuation and footnote omitted. Renu Thrift Store v. Figueroa , 286 Ga. App. 455, 456 649 SE2d 528 2007. In its order, the ALJ made the following findings of fact, which are supported by evidence in the record. At the time of Clarke’s accident, he was serving a six-year term of imprisonment for vehicular homicide and driving under the influence. After Clarke served about three years in prison, the Department of Corrections transferred him to another correctional facility, the Atlanta Transitional Center. The Department eventually allowed Clarke to participate in a work release program2 as a trustee working for a private employer, Country Home Bakers. Under this arrangement, Clarke had to live at the transitional center, was required to use only public transportation, was subject to a curfew and random drug screens, and was required to eat all meals, except lunch, at the center. In addition, the Department had to approve the bakery as a place of employment for Clarke and had to approve his work hours and salary. All of Clarke’s earnings were automatically deposited into his prison account, and the Department allowed him to withdraw a maximum of $35 per week.
On December 28, 2005, Clarke sustained serious injuries when he fell while working as a trustee at the bakery. Clarke was hospitalized for two weeks at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, after which the Department transferred him to Baldwin State Prison’s infirmary. Clarke remained incarcerated at the prison until he was paroled in 2006.
