California Workers' Compensation: What you need to know

All employees must be covered by workers' compensation insurance. The only exceptions are the following types of workers (CA Lab. Code Sec. 3350et seq.

• Spouse, parents, and children of the employer
• Employees of religious, charitable, or relief organizations working in return for aid and sustenance only
• Volunteer workers for public or nonprofit organizations who receive no compensation other than meals, transportation, lodging, and reimbursement for expenses
• Deputy sheriffs and constables who are unpaid
• Participants in sports who receive no compensation other than the use of uniforms and equipment, meals, transportation, lodging, and reimbursement for expenses
• Household and/or casual workers who earned less than $100 or worked fewer than 52 hours during the 90 days preceding the date of injury or exposure
• Officials at sporting events sponsored by a public agency or nonprofit organization
• Students participating in amateur sporting events
• Disaster workers
• Parents participating in a cooperative nursery school
• Volunteer ski-patrol employees; ski-lift employees during nonworking recreational time
• Owner-builders participating in mutual self-help housing programs sponsored by a nonprofit corporation
• Certain company owners, board members, and partners who waive their rights in writing

Workers' compensation is a "no-fault" system. Because it makes no difference who is at fault for the injury, there is no need for the injured employee to prove that the employer's negligence caused it. To be compensable under workers' compensation, the injury need only arise "out of and in the course of employment." According to the Reform Act of 2004, the injury must be certified by a physician using medical evidence based on ...