What’s Covered By Workers’ Comp in California?

Under the Labor Code, an injured employee is entitled to workers’ comp when he or she sustains an injury or illness while acting within the course of his or her employment, or while performing service incidental to his or her employment.

Typically, employers, claims administrators, and courts look to whether the employee was performing an activity for his or her employer’s benefit at the time the injury or illness was sustained.

A covered injury or illness may be caused by a single accident, or it may develop over time, such as a repetitive strain injury or cancer caused by chronic exposure to toxic materials.

An injury or illness will not be covered by the workers’ comp system if it:

1. Does not occur in the course and scope of the employee’s employment

2. Is caused by the injured employee’s intoxication, alcohol, or the unlawful use of a controlled substance

3. Is intentionally self-inflicted, such as an employee who commits suicide in the workplace

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4. Is willfully and deliberately caused by the employee, such as an employee who intentionally injures his hand at work because he wants to take a few days off

5. Arises out of an altercation in which the injured employee is the initial physical aggressor

6. Is caused by the commission of a felony or a crime by the injured employee

7. Arises out of the injured employee’s voluntary participation in any off-duty recreational, social, or athletic activity that is not part of the employee’s work-related duties

Tomorrow, we’ll look at an issue that a lot of employers have questions about: Whether employees who are injured while traveling from home to work, or vice versa, are entitled to workers’ comp benefits.

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