California Labor Code 3200-3709.5

back to top

3200.  The Legislature hereby declares its intent that the term
"workmen's compensation" shall hereafter also be known as "workers'
compensation, " and that the "Workmen's Compensation Appeals Board"
shall hereafter be known as the "Workers' Compensation Appeals Board."
In furtherance of this policy it is the desire of the Legislature
that references to the terms "workmen's compensation" and "Workmen's
Compensation Appeals Board" in this code or elsewhere be changed to
"workers' compensation" and "Workers' Compensation Appeals Board"
when such laws are being amended for any purpose. This act is
declaratory and not amendatory of existing law.



3201.  This division and Division 5 (commencing with Section 6300)
are an expression of the police power and are intended to make
effective and apply to a complete system of workers' compensation the
provisions of Section 4 of Article XIV of the California
Constitution.



3201.5.  (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), the
Department of Industrial Relations and the courts of this state shall
recognize as valid and binding any provision in a collective
bargaining agreement between a private employer or groups of
employers engaged in construction, construction maintenance, or
activities limited to rock, sand, gravel, cement and asphalt
operations, heavy-duty mechanics, surveying, and construction
inspection and a union that is the recognized or certified exclusive
bargaining representative that establishes any of the following:
   (1) An alternative dispute resolution system governing disputes
between employees and employers or their insurers that supplements or
replaces all or part of those dispute resolution processes contained
in this division, including, but not limited to, mediation and
arbitration. Any system of arbitration shall provide that the
decision of the arbiter or board of arbitration is subject to review
by the appeals board in the same manner as provided for
reconsideration of a final order, decision, or award made and filed
by a workers' compensation administrative law judge pursuant to the
procedures set forth in Article 1 (commencing with Section 5900) of
Chapter 7 of Part 4 of Division 4, and the court of appeals pursuant
to the procedures set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section
5950) of Chapter 7 of Part 4 of Division 4, governing orders,
decisions, or awards of the appeals board. The findings of fact,
award, order, or decision of the arbitrator shall have the same force
and effect as an award, order, or decision of a workers'
compensation administrative law judge. Any provision for arbitration
established pursuant to this section shall not be subject to Sections
5270, 5270.5, 5271, 5272, 5273, 5275, and 5277.
   (2) The use of an agreed list of providers of medical treatment
that may be the exclusive source of all medical treatment provided
under this division.
   (3) The use of an agreed, limited list of qualified medical
evaluators and agreed medical evaluators that may be the exclusive
source of qualified medical evaluators and agreed medical evaluators
under this division.
   (4) Joint labor management safety committees.
   (5) A light-duty, modified job or return-to-work program.
   (6) A vocational rehabilitation or retraining program utilizing an
agreed list of providers of rehabilitation services that may be the
exclusive source of providers of rehabilitation services under this
division.
   (b) (1) Nothing in this section shall allow a collective
bargaining agreement that diminishes the entitlement of an employee
to compensation payments for total or partial disability, temporary
disability, vocational rehabilitation, or medical treatment fully
paid by the employer as otherwise provided in this division. The
portion of any agreement that violates this paragraph shall be
declared null and void.
   (2) The parties may negotiate any aspect of the delivery of
medical benefits and the delivery of disability compensation to
employees of the employer or group of employers that are eligible for
group health benefits and nonoccupational disability benefits
through their employer.
   (c) Subdivision (a) shall apply only to the following:
   (1) An employer developing or projecting an annual workers'
compensation insurance premium, in California, of two hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($250,000) or more, or any employer that paid an
annual workers' compensation insurance premium, in California, of two
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) in at least one of the
previous three years.
   (2) Groups of employers engaged in a workers' compensation safety
group complying with Sections 11656.6 and 11656.7 of the Insurance
Code, and established pursuant to a joint labor management safety
committee or committees, that develops or projects annual workers'
compensation insurance premiums of two million dollars ($2,000,000)
or more.
   (3) Employers or groups of employers that are self-insured in
compliance with Section 3700 that would have projected annual workers'
compensation costs that meet the requirements of, and that meet the
other requirements of, paragraph (1) in the case of employers, or
paragraph (2) in the case of groups of employers.
   (4) Employers covered by an owner or general contractor provided
wrap-up insurance policy applicable to a single construction site
that develops workers' compensation insurance premiums of two million
dollars ($2,000,000) or more with respect to those employees covered
by that wrap-up insurance policy.
   (d) Employers and labor representatives who meet the eligibility
requirements of this section shall be issued a letter by the
administrative director advising each employer and labor
representative that, based upon the review of all documents and
materials submitted as required by the administrative director, each
has met the eligibility requirements of this section.
   (e) The premium rate for a policy of insurance issued pursuant to
this section shall not be subject to the requirements of Section
11732 or 11732.5 of the Insurance Code.
   (f) No employer may establish or continue a program established
under this section until it has provided the administrative director
with all of the following:
   (1) Upon its original application and whenever it is renegotiated
thereafter, a copy of the collective bargaining agreement and the
approximate number of employees who will be covered thereby.
   (2) Upon its original application and annually thereafter, a valid
and active license where that license is required by law as a
condition of doing business in the state within the industries set
forth in subdivision (a) of Section 3201.5.
   (3) Upon its original application and annually thereafter, a
statement signed under penalty of perjury, that no action has been
taken by any administrative agency or court of the United States to
invalidate the collective bargaining agreement.
   (4) The name, address, and telephone number of the contact person
of the employer.
   (5) Any other information that the administrative director deems
necessary to further the purposes of this section.
   (g) No collective bargaining representative may establish or
continue to participate in a program established under this section
unless all of the following requirements are met:
   (1) Upon its original application and annually thereafter, it has
provided to the administrative director a copy of its most recent
LM-2 or LM-3 filing with the United States Department of Labor, along
with a statement, signed under penalty of perjury, that the document
is a true and correct copy.
   (2) It has provided to the administrative director the name,
address, and telephone number of the contact person or persons of the
collective bargaining representative or representatives.
   (h) Commencing July 1, 1995, and annually thereafter, the Division
of Workers' Compensation shall report to the Director of Industrial
Relations the number of collective bargaining agreements received and
the number of employees covered by these agreements.
   (i) The data obtained by the administrative director pursuant to
this section shall be confidential and not subject to public
disclosure under any law of this state. However, the Division of
Workers' Compensation shall create derivative works pursuant to
subdivision (h) based on the collective bargaining agreements and
data. Those derivative works shall not be confidential, but shall be
public. On a monthly basis the administrative director shall make
available an updated list of employers and unions entering into
collective bargaining agreements containing provisions authorized by
this section.


3201.7.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the Department
of Industrial Relations and the courts of this state shall recognize
as valid and binding any labor-management agreement that meets all of
the following requirements:
   (1) The labor-management agreement has been negotiated separate
and apart from any collective bargaining agreement covering affected
employees.
   (2) The labor-management agreement is restricted to the
establishment of the terms and conditions necessary to implement this
section.
   (3) The labor-management agreement has been negotiated in
accordance with the authorization of the administrative director
pursuant to subdivision (d), between an employer or groups of
employers and a union that is the recognized or certified exclusive
bargaining representative that establishes any of the following:
   (A) An alternative dispute resolution system governing disputes
between employees and employers or their insurers that supplements or
replaces all or part of those dispute resolution processes contained
in this division, including, but not limited to, mediation and
arbitration. Any system of arbitration shall provide that the
decision of the arbiter or board of arbitration is subject to review
by the appeals board in the same manner as provided for
reconsideration of a final order, decision, or award made and filed
by a workers' compensation administrative law judge pursuant to the
procedures set forth in Article 1 (commencing with Section 5900) of
Chapter 7 of Part 4 of Division 4, and the court of appeals pursuant
to the procedures set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section
5950) of Chapter 7 of Part 4 of Division 4, governing orders,
decisions, or awards of the appeals board. The findings of fact,
award, order, or decision of the arbitrator shall have the same force
and effect as an award, order, or decision of a workers'
compensation administrative law judge. Any provision for arbitration
established pursuant to this section shall not be subject to Sections
5270, 5270.5, 5271, 5272, 5273, 5275, and 5277.
   (B) The use of an agreed list of providers of medical treatment
that may be the exclusive source of all medical treatment provided
under this division.
   (C) The use of an agreed, limited list of qualified medical
evaluators and agreed medical evaluators that may be the exclusive
source of qualified medical evaluators and agreed medical evaluators
under this division.
   (D) Joint labor management safety committees.
   (E) A light-duty, modified job, or return-to-work program.
   (F) A vocational rehabilitation or retraining program utilizing an
agreed list of providers of rehabilitation services that may be the
exclusive source of providers of rehabilitation services under this
division.
   (b) (1) Nothing in this section shall allow a labor-management
agreement that diminishes the entitlement of an employee to
compensation payments for total or partial disability, temporary
disability, vocational rehabilitation, or medical treatment fully
paid by the employer as otherwise provided in this division; nor
shall any agreement authorized by this section deny to any employee
the right to representation by counsel at all stages during the
alternative dispute resolution process. The portion of any agreement
that violates this paragraph shall be declared null and void.
   (2) The parties may negotiate any aspect of the delivery of
medical benefits and the delivery of disability compensation to
employees of the employer or group of employers that are eligible for
group health benefits and nonoccupational disability benefits
through their employer.
   (c) Subdivision (a) shall apply only to the following:
   (1) An employer developing or projecting an annual workers'
compensation insurance premium, in California, of fifty thousand
dollars ($50,000) or more, and employing at least 50 employees, or
any employer that paid an annual workers' compensation insurance
premium, in California, of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), and
employing at least 50 employees in at least one of the previous three
years.
   (2) Groups of employers engaged in a workers' compensation safety
group complying with Sections 11656.6 and 11656.7 of the Insurance
Code, and established pursuant to a joint labor management safety
committee or committees, that develops or projects annual workers'
compensation insurance premiums of five hundred thousand dollars
($500,000) or more.
   (3) Employers or groups of employers, including cities and
counties, that are self-insured in compliance with Section 3700 that
would have projected annual workers' compensation costs that meet the
requirements of, and that meet the other requirements of, paragraph
(1) in the case of employers, or paragraph (2) in the case of groups
of employers.
   (4) The State of California.
   (d) Any recognized or certified exclusive bargaining
representative in an industry not covered by Section 3201.5, may file
a petition with the administrative director seeking permission to
negotiate with an employer or group of employers to enter into a
labor-management agreement pursuant to this section. The petition
shall specify the bargaining unit or units to be included, the names
of the employers or groups of employers, and shall be accompanied by
proof of the labor union's status as the exclusive bargaining
representative. The current collective bargaining agreement or
agreements shall be attached to the petition. The petition shall be
in the form designated by the administrative director. Upon receipt
of the petition, the administrative director shall promptly verify
the petitioner's status as the exclusive bargaining representative.
If the petition satisfies the requirements set forth in this
subdivision, the administrative director shall issue a letter
advising each employer and labor representative of their eligibility
to enter into negotiations, for a period not to exceed one year, for
the purpose of reaching agreement on a labor-management agreement
pursuant to this section. The parties may jointly request, and shall
be granted, by the administrative director, an additional one-year
period to negotiate an agreement.
   (e) No employer may establish or continue a program established
under this section until it has provided the administrative director
with all of the following:
   (1) Upon its original application and whenever it is renegotiated
thereafter, a copy of the labor-management agreement and the
approximate number of employees who will be covered thereby.
   (2) Upon its original application and annually thereafter, a
statement signed under penalty of perjury, that no action has been
taken by any administrative agency or court of the United States to
invalidate the labor-management agreement.
   (3) The name, address, and telephone number of the contact person
of the employer.
   (4) Any other information that the administrative director deems
necessary to further the purposes of this section.
   (f) No collective bargaining representative may establish or
continue to participate in a program established under this section
unless all of the following requirements are met:
   (1) Upon its original application and annually thereafter, it has
provided to the administrative director a copy of its most recent
LM-2 or LM-3 filing with the United States Department of Labor, where
such filing is required by law, along with a statement, signed under
penalty of perjury, that the document is a true and correct copy.
   (2) It has provided to the administrative director the name,
address, and telephone number of the contact person or persons of the
collective bargaining representative or representatives.
   (g) Commencing July 1, 2005, and annually thereafter, the Division
of Workers' Compensation shall report to the Director of Industrial
Relations the number of labor-management agreements received and the
number of employees covered by these agreements.
   (h) The data obtained by the administrative director pursuant to
this section shall be confidential and not subject to public
disclosure under any law of this state. However, the Division of
Workers' Compensation shall create derivative works pursuant to
subdivision (g) based on the labor-management agreements and data.
Those derivative works shall not be confidential, but shall be
public. On a monthly basis, the administrative director shall make
available an updated list of employers and unions entering into
labor-management agreements authorized by this section.



3201.81.  In the horse racing industry, the organization certified
by the California Horse Racing Board to represent the majority of
licensed jockeys pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 19612.9 of
the Business and Professions Code is the labor organization
authorized to negotiate the collective bargaining agreement
establishing an alternative dispute resolution system for licensed
jockeys pursuant to Section 3201.7.



3201.9.  (a) On or before June 30, 2004, and biannually thereafter,
the report required in subdivision (i) of Section 3201.5 and
subdivision (h) of Section 3201.7 shall include updated loss
experience for all employers and groups of employers participating in
a program established under those sections. The report shall include
updated data on each item set forth in subdivision (i) of Section
3201.5 and subdivision (h) of Section 3201.7 for the previous year
for injuries in 2003 and beyond. Updates for each program shall be
done for the original program year and for subsequent years. The
insurers, the Department of Insurance, and the rating organization
designated by the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to Article 3
(commencing with Section 11750) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 2
of the Insurance Code, shall provide the administrative director with
any information that the administrative director determines is
reasonably necessary to conduct the study.
   (b) Commencing on and after June 30, 2004, the Insurance
Commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, shall prepare for
inclusion in the report required in subdivision (i) of Section 3201.5
and subdivision (h) of Section 3201.7 a review of both of the
following:
   (1) The adequacy of rates charged for these programs, including
the impact of scheduled credits and debits.
   (2) The comparative results for these programs with other programs
not subject to Section 3201.5 or Section 3201.7.
   (c) Upon completion of the report, the administrative director
shall report the findings to the Legislature, the Department of
Insurance, the designated rating organization, and the programs and
insurers participating in the study.
   (d) The data obtained by the administrative director pursuant to
this section shall be confidential and not subject to public
disclosure under any law of this state.



3202.  This division and Division 5 (commencing with Section 6300)
shall be liberally construed by the courts with the purpose of
extending their benefits for the protection of persons injured in the
course of their employment.


3202.5.  All parties and lien claimants shall meet the evidentiary
burden of proof on all issues by a preponderance of the evidence in
order that all parties are considered equal before the law.
"Preponderance of the evidence" means that evidence that, when
weighed with that opposed to it, has more convincing force and the
greater probability of truth. When weighing the evidence, the test is
not the relative number of witnesses, but the relative convincing
force of the evidence.



3203.  This division and Division 5 (commencing with Section 6300)
do not apply to employers or employments which, according to law, are
so engaged in interstate commerce as not to be subject to the
legislative power of the state, nor to employees injured while they
are so engaged, except in so far as these divisions are permitted to
apply under the Constitution or laws of the United States.



3204.  Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions
hereinafter set forth in this chapter shall govern the construction
and meaning of the terms and phrases used in this division.



3205.  "Division" means the Division of Workers' Compensation.



3205.5.  "Appeals board" means the Workers' Compensation Appeals
Board of the Division of Workers' Compensation.



3206.  "Administrative director" means the Director of the Division
of Workers' Compensation.



3207.  "Compensation" means compensation under this division and
includes every benefit or payment conferred by this division upon an
injured employee, or in the event of his or her death, upon his or
her dependents, without regard to negligence.




3208.  "Injury" includes any injury or disease arising out of the
employment, including injuries to artificial members, dentures,
hearing aids, eyeglasses and medical braces of all types; provided,
however, that eyeglasses and hearing aids will not be replaced,
repaired, or otherwise compensated for, unless injury to them is
incident to an injury causing disability.



3208.05.  (a) "Injury" includes a reaction to or a side effect
arising from health care provided by an employer to a health care
worker, which health care is intended to prevent the development or
manifestation of any bloodborne disease, illness, syndrome, or
condition recognized as occupationally incurred by Cal-OSHA, the
Federal Centers for Disease Control, or other appropriate
governmental entities. This section shall apply only to preventive
health care that the employer provided to a health care worker under
the following circumstances: (1) prior to an exposure because of risk
of occupational exposure to such a disease, illness, syndrome, or
condition, or (2) where the preventive care is provided as a
consequence of a documented exposure to blood or bodily fluid
containing blood that arose out of and in the course of employment.
Such a disease, illness, syndrome, or condition includes, but is not
limited to, hepatitis, and the human immunodeficiency virus. Such
preventive health care, and any disability indemnity or other
benefits required as a result of the preventive health care provided
by the employer, shall be compensable under the workers' compensation
system. The employer may require the health care worker to document
that the employer provided the preventive health care and that the
reaction or side effects arising from the preventive health care
resulted in lost work time, health care costs, or other costs
normally compensable under workers' compensation.
   (b) The benefits of this section shall not be provided to a health
care worker for a reaction to or side effect from health care
intended to prevent the development of the human immunodeficiency
virus if the worker claims a work-related exposure and if the worker
tests positive within 48 hours of that exposure to a test to
determine the presence of the human immunodeficiency virus.
   (c) For purposes of this section, "health care worker" includes
any person who is an employee of a provider of health care as defined
in subdivision (d) of Section 56.05 of the Civil Code, and who is
exposed to human blood or other bodily fluids contaminated with blood
in the course of employment, including, but not limited to, a
registered nurse, a licensed vocational nurse, a certified nurse
aide, clinical laboratory technologist, dental hygienist, physician,
janitor, and housekeeping worker. "Health care worker" does not
include an employee who provides employee health services for an
employer primarily engaged in a business other than providing health
care.


3208.1.  An injury may be either: (a) "specific," occurring as the
result of one incident or exposure which causes disability or need
for medical treatment; or (b) "cumulative," occurring as repetitive
mentally or physically traumatic activities extending over a period
of time, the combined effect of which causes any disability or need
for medical treatment. The date of a cumulative injury shall be the
date determined under Section 5412.



3208.2.  When disability, need for medical treatment, or death
results from the combined effects of two or more injuries, either
specific, cumulative, or both, all questions of fact and law shall be
separately determined with respect to each such injury, including,
but not limited to, the apportionment between such injuries of
liability for disability benefits, the cost of medical treatment, and
any death benefit.



3208.3.  (a) A psychiatric injury shall be compensable if it is a
mental disorder which causes disability or need for medical
treatment, and it is diagnosed pursuant to procedures promulgated
under paragraph (4) of subdivision (j) of Section 139.2 or, until
these procedures are promulgated, it is diagnosed using the
terminology and criteria of the American Psychiatric Association's
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third
Edition-Revised, or the terminology and diagnostic criteria of other
psychiatric diagnostic manuals generally approved and accepted
nationally by practitioners in the field of psychiatric medicine.
   (b) (1) In order to establish that a psychiatric injury is
compensable, an employee shall demonstrate by a preponderance of the
evidence that actual events of employment were predominant as to all
causes combined of the psychiatric injury.
   (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in the case of employees whose
injuries resulted from being a victim of a violent act or from direct
exposure to a significant violent act, the employee shall be
required to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that
actual events of employment were a substantial cause of the injury.
   (3) For the purposes of this section, "substantial cause" means at
least 35 to 40 percent of the causation from all sources combined.
   (c) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section
to establish a new and higher threshold of compensability for
psychiatric injury under this division.
   (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, no
compensation shall be paid pursuant to this division for a
psychiatric injury related to a claim against an employer unless the
employee has been employed by that employer for at least six months.
The six months of employment need not be continuous. This subdivision
shall not apply if the psychiatric injury is caused by a sudden and
extraordinary employment condition. Nothing in this subdivision shall
be construed to authorize an employee, or his or her dependents, to
bring an action at law or equity for damages against the employer for
a psychiatric injury, where those rights would not exist pursuant to
the exclusive remedy doctrine set forth in Section 3602 in the
absence of the amendment of this section by the act adding this
subdivision.
   (e) Where the claim for compensation is filed after notice of
termination of employment or layoff, including voluntary layoff, and
the claim is for an injury occurring prior to the time of notice of
termination or layoff, no compensation shall be paid unless the
employee demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that actual
events of employment were predominant as to all causes combined of
the psychiatric injury and one or more of the following conditions
exist:
   (1) Sudden and extraordinary events of employment were the cause
of the injury.
   (2) The employer has notice of the psychiatric injury under
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 5400) prior to the notice of
termination or layoff.
   (3) The employee's medical records existing prior to notice of
termination or layoff contain evidence of treatment of the
psychiatric injury.
   (4) Upon a finding of sexual or racial harassment by any trier of
fact, whether contractual, administrative, regulatory, or judicial.
   (5) Evidence that the date of injury, as specified in Section 5411
or 5412, is subsequent to the date of the notice of termination or
layoff, but prior to the effective date of the termination or layoff.
   (f) For purposes of this section, an employee provided notice
pursuant to Sections 44948.5, 44949, 44951, 44955, 44955.6, 72411,
87740, and 87743 of the Education Code shall be considered to have
been provided a notice of termination or layoff only upon a district'
s final decision not to reemploy that person.
   (g) A notice of termination or layoff that is not followed within
60 days by that termination or layoff shall not be subject to the
provisions of this subdivision, and this subdivision shall not apply
until receipt of a later notice of termination or layoff. The
issuance of frequent notices of termination or layoff to an employee
shall be considered a bad faith personnel action and shall make this
subdivision inapplicable to the employee.
   (h) No compensation under this division shall be paid by an
employer for a psychiatric injury if the injury was substantially
caused by a lawful, nondiscriminatory, good faith personnel action.
The burden of proof shall rest with the party asserting the issue.
   (i) When a psychiatric injury claim is filed against an employer,
and an application for adjudication of claim is filed by an employer
or employee, the division shall provide the employer with information
concerning psychiatric injury prevention programs.
   (j) An employee who is an inmate, as defined in subdivision (e) of
Section 3351, or his or her family on behalf of an inmate, shall not
be entitled to compensation for a psychiatric injury except as
provided in subdivision (d) of Section 3370.



3208.4.  In any proceeding under this division involving an injury
arising out of alleged conduct that constitutes sexual harassment,
sexual assault, or sexual battery, any party seeking discovery
concerning sexual conduct of the applicant with any person other than
the defendant, whether consensual or nonconsensual or prior or
subsequent to the alleged act complained of, shall establish specific
facts showing good cause for that discovery on a noticed motion to
the appeals board. The motion shall not be made or considered at an
ex parte hearing.
   The procedures set forth in Section 783 of the Evidence Code shall
be followed if evidence of sexual conduct of the applicant is
offered to attack his or her credibility. Opinion evidence, evidence
of reputation, and evidence of specific instances of sexual conduct
of the applicant with any person other than the defendant, or any of
such evidence, is not admissible by the defendant to prove consent by
or the absence of injury to the applicant, unless the injury alleged
by the applicant is in the nature of loss of consortium.



3209.  "Damages" means the recovery allowed in an action at law as
contrasted with compensation.



3209.3.  (a) "Physician" includes physicians and surgeons holding an
M.D. or D.O. degree, psychologists, acupuncturists, optometrists,
dentists, podiatrists, and chiropractic practitioners licensed by
California state law and within the scope of their practice as
defined by California state law.
   (b) "Psychologist" means a licensed psychologist with a doctoral
degree in psychology, or a doctoral degree deemed equivalent for
licensure by the Board of Psychology pursuant to Section 2914 of the
Business and Professions Code, and who either has at least two years
of clinical experience in a recognized health setting or has met the
standards of the National Register of the Health Service Providers in
Psychology.
   (c) When treatment or evaluation for an injury is provided by a
psychologist, provision shall be made for appropriate medical
collaboration when requested by the employer or the insurer.
   (d) "Acupuncturist" means a person who holds an acupuncturist's
certificate issued pursuant to Chapter 12 (commencing with Section
4925) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.
   (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize
acupuncturists to determine disability for the purposes of Article 3
(commencing with Section 4650) of Chapter 2 of Part 2, or under
Section 2708 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.



3209.4.  The inclusion of optometrists in Section 3209.3 does not
imply any right or entitle any optometrist to represent, advertise,
or hold himself out as a physician.



3209.5.  Medical, surgical, and hospital treatment, including
nursing, medicines, medical and surgical supplies, crutches, and
apparatus, includes but is not limited to services and supplies by
physical therapists, chiropractic practitioners, and acupuncturists,
as licensed by California state law and within the scope of their
practice as defined by law.



3209.6.  The inclusion of chiropractors in Sections 3209.3 and
3209.5 does not imply any right or entitle any chiropractor to
represent, advertise, or hold himself out as a physician.



3209.7.  Treatment of injuries at the expense of the employer may
also include, either in addition to or in place of medical, surgical,
and hospital services, as specified in Section 3209.5, any other
form of therapy, treatment, or healing practice agreed upon
voluntarily in writing, between the employee and his employer. Such
agreement may be entered into at any time after employment and shall
be in a form approved by the Department of Industrial Relations, and
shall include at least the following items:
   (a) A description of the form of healing practice intended to be
relied upon and designation of individuals and facilities qualified
to administer it.
   (b) The employee shall not by entering into such an agreement or
by selecting such therapy, treatment or healing practice, waive any
rights conferred upon him by law, or forfeit any benefits to which he
might otherwise be entitled.
   (c) The employer and the employee shall each reserve the right to
terminate such agreement upon seven days written notice to the other
party.
   No liability shall be incurred by the employer under the
provisions of this section, except as provided for in Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 3600), of this part.



3209.8.  Treatment reasonably required to cure or relieve from the
effects of an injury shall include the services of marriage and
family therapists and clinical social workers licensed by California
state law and within the scope of their practice as defined by
California state law if the injured person is referred to the
marriage and family therapist or the clinical social worker by a
licensed physician and surgeon, with the approval of the employer,
for treatment of a condition arising out of the injury. Nothing in
this section shall be construed to authorize marriage and family
therapists or clinical social workers to determine disability for the
purposes of Article 3 (commencing with Section 4650) of Chapter 2 of
Part 2. The requirement of this section that the employer approve
the referral by a licensed physician or surgeon shall not be
construed to preclude reimbursement for self-procured treatment,
found by the appeals board to be otherwise compensable pursuant to
this division, where the employer has refused to authorize any
treatment for the condition arising from the injury treated by the
marriage and family therapist or clinical social worker.



3209.9.  The inclusion of acupuncturists in Section 3209.3 does not
imply any right or entitle any acupuncturist to represent, advertise,
or hold himself or herself out as a physician or surgeon holding an
M.D. or D.O. degree.


3209.10.  (a) Medical treatment of a work-related injury required to
cure or relieve the effects of the injury may be provided by a state
licensed physician assistant or nurse practitioner, acting under the
review or supervision of a physician and surgeon pursuant to
standardized procedures or protocols within their lawfully authorized
scope of practice. The reviewing or supervising physician and
surgeon of the physician assistant or nurse practitioner shall be
deemed to be the treating physician. For the purposes of this
section, "medical treatment" includes the authority of the nurse
practitioner or physician assistant to authorize the patient to
receive time off from work for a period not to exceed three calendar
days if that authority is included in a standardized procedure or
protocol approved by the supervising physician. The nurse
practitioner or physician assistant may cosign the Doctor's First
Report of Occupational Injury or Illness. The treating physician
shall make any determination of temporary disability and shall sign
the report.
   (b) The provision of subdivision (a) that requires the cosignature
of the treating physician applies to this section only and it is not
the intent of the Legislature that the requirement apply to any
other section of law or to any other statute or regulation. Nothing
in this section implies that a nurse practitioner or physician
assistant is a physician as defined in Section 3209.3.




3210.  "Person" includes an individual, firm, voluntary association,
or a public, quasi public, or private corporation.



3211.  "Insurer" includes the State Compensation Insurance Fund and
any private company, corporation, mutual association, reciprocal or
interinsurance exchange authorized under the laws of this State to
insure employers against liability for compensation and any employer
to whom a certificate of consent to self-insure has been issued.




3211.5.  For purposes of this division, whenever the term
"firefighter," "firefighting member," and "member of a fire
department" is used, the term shall include, but shall not be limited
to, unless the context expressly provides otherwise, a person
engaged in providing firefighting services who is an apprentice,
volunteer, or employee on a partly paid or fully paid basis.



3211.9.  "Disaster council" means a public agency established by
ordinance which is empowered to register and direct the activities of
disaster service workers within the area of the county, city, city
and county, or any part thereof, and is thus, because of such
registration and direction, acting as an instrumentality of the state
in aid of the carrying out of the general governmental functions and
policy of the state.



3211.91.  "Accredited disaster council" means a disaster council
that is certified by the California Emergency Management Agency as
conforming with the rules and regulations established by the office
pursuant to Article 10 (commencing with Section 8610) of Chapter 7 of
Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code. A disaster council
remains accredited only while the certification of the California
Emergency Management Agency is in effect and is not revoked.



3211.92.  (a) "Disaster service worker" means any natural person who
is registered with an accredited disaster council or a state agency
for the purpose of engaging in disaster service pursuant to the
California Emergency Services Act without pay or other consideration.
   (b) "Disaster service worker" includes public employees performing
disaster work that is outside the course and scope of their regular
employment without pay and also includes any unregistered person
impressed into service during a state of war emergency, a state of
emergency, or a local emergency by a person having authority to
command the aid of citizens in the execution of his or her duties.
   (c) Persons registered with a disaster council at the time that
council becomes accredited need not reregister in order to be
entitled to the benefits provided by Chapter 10 (commencing with
Section 4351).
   (d) "Disaster service worker" does not include any member
registered as an active firefighting member of any regularly
organized volunteer fire department, having official recognition, and
full or partial support of the county, city, or district in which
the fire department is located.



3211.93.  "Disaster service" means all activities authorized by and
carried on pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act,
including training necessary or proper to engage in such activities.



3211.93a.  "Disaster service" does not include any activities or
functions performed by a person if the accredited disaster council
with which that person is registered receives a fee or other
compensation for the performance of those activities or functions by
that person.



3212.  In the case of members of a sheriff's office or the
California Highway Patrol, district attorney's staff of inspectors
and investigators or of police or fire departments of cities,
counties, cities and counties, districts or other public or municipal
corporations or political subdivisions, whether those members are
volunteer, partly paid, or fully paid, and in the case of active
firefighting members of the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection whose duties require firefighting or of any county
forestry or firefighting department or unit, whether voluntary, fully
paid, or partly paid, and in the case of members of the warden
service of the Wildlife Protection Branch of the Department of Fish
and Game whose principal duties consist of active law enforcement
service, excepting those whose principal duties are clerical or
otherwise do not clearly fall within the scope of active law
enforcement service such as stenographers, telephone operators, and
other officeworkers, the term "injury" as used in this act includes
hernia when any part of the hernia develops or manifests itself
during a period while the member is in the service in the office,
staff, division, department, or unit, and in the case of members of
fire departments, except those whose principal duties are clerical,
such as stenographers, telephone operators, and other officeworkers,
and in the case of county forestry or firefighting departments,
except those whose principal duties are clerical, such as
stenographers, telephone operators, and other officeworkers, and in
the case of active firefighting members of the Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection whose duties require firefighting, and in the
case of members of the warden service of the Wildlife Protection
Branch of the Department of Fish and Game whose principal duties
consist of active law enforcement service, excepting those whose
principal duties are clerical or otherwise do not clearly fall within
the scope of active law enforcement service such as stenographers,
telephone operators, and other officeworkers, the term "injury"
includes pneumonia and heart trouble that develops or manifests
itself during a period while the member is in the service of the
office, staff, department, or unit. In the case of regular salaried
county or city and county peace officers, the term "injury" also
includes any hernia that manifests itself or develops during a period
while the officer is in the service. The compensation that is
awarded for the hernia, heart trouble, or pneumonia shall include
full hospital, surgical, medical treatment, disability indemnity, and
death benefits, as provided by the workers' compensation laws of
this state.
   The hernia, heart trouble, or pneumonia so developing or
manifesting itself in those cases shall be presumed to arise out of
and in the course of the employment. This presumption is disputable
and may be controverted by other evidence, but unless so
controverted, the appeals board is bound to find in accordance with
it. The presumption shall be extended to a member following
termination of service for a period of three calendar months for each
full year of the requisite service, but not to exceed 60 months in
any circumstance, commencing with the last date actually worked in
the specified capacity.
   The hernia, heart trouble, or pneumonia so developing or
manifesting itself in those cases shall in no case be attributed to
any disease existing prior to that development or manifestation.



3212.1.  (a) This section applies to all of the following:
   (1) Active firefighting members, whether volunteers, partly paid,
or fully paid, of all of the following fire departments:
   (A) A fire department of a city, county, city and county,
district, or other public or municipal corporation or political
subdivision.
   (B) A fire department of the University of California and the
California State University.
   (C) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
   (D) A county forestry or firefighting department or unit.
   (2) Active firefighting members of a fire department that serves a
United States Department of Defense installation and who are
certified by the Department of Defense as meeting its standards for
firefighters.
   (3) Active firefighting members of a fire department that serves a
National Aeronautics and Space Administration installation and who
adhere to training standards established in accordance with Article 4
(commencing with Section 13155) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division
12 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (4) Peace officers, as defined in Section 830.1, subdivision (a)
of Section 830.2, and subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 830.37, of
the Penal Code, who are primarily engaged in active law enforcement
activities.
   (5) (A) Fire and rescue services coordinators who work for the
Office of Emergency Services.
   (B) For purposes of this paragraph, "fire and rescue services
coordinators" means coordinators with any of the following job
classifications: coordinator, senior coordinator, or chief
coordinator.
   (b) The term "injury," as used in this division, includes cancer,
including leukemia, that develops or manifests itself during a period
in which any member described in subdivision (a) is in the service
of the department or unit, if the member demonstrates that he or she
was exposed, while in the service of the department or unit, to a
known carcinogen as defined by the International Agency for Research
on Cancer, or as defined by the director.
   (c) The compensation that is awarded for cancer shall include full
hospital, surgical, medical treatment, disability indemnity, and
death benefits, as provided by this division.
   (d) The cancer so developing or manifesting itself in these cases
shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of the
employment. This presumption is disputable and may be controverted by
evidence that the primary site of the cancer has been established
and that the carcinogen to which the member has demonstrated exposure
is not reasonably linked to the disabling cancer. Unless so
controverted, the appeals board is bound to find in accordance with
the presumption. This presumption shall be extended to a member
following termination of service for a period of three calendar
months for each full year of the requisite service, but not to exceed
120 months in any circumstance, commencing with the last date
actually worked in the specified capacity.
   (e) The amendments to this section enacted during the 1999 portion
of the 1999-2000 Regular Session shall be applied to claims for
benefits filed or pending on or after January 1, 1997, including, but
not limited to, claims for benefits filed on or after that date that
have previously been denied, or that are being appealed following
denial.
   (f) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the William
Dallas Jones Cancer Presumption Act of 2010.



3212.2.  In the case of officers and employees in the Department of
Corrections having custodial duties, each officer and employee in the
Department of Youth Authority having group supervisory duties, and
each security officer employed at the Atascadero State Hospital, the
term "injury" includes heart trouble which develops or manifests
itself during a period while such officer or employee is in the
service of such department or hospital.
   The compensation which is awarded for such heart trouble shall
include full hospital, surgical, medical treatment, disability
indemnity, and death benefits, as provided by the workmen's
compensation laws of this state.
   Such heart trouble so developing or manifesting itself in such
cases shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of the
employment. This presumption is disputable and may be controverted by
other evidence, but unless so controverted, the appeals board is
bound to find in accordance with it. This presumption shall be
extended to a member following termination of service for a period of
three calendar months for each full year of the requisite service,
but not to exceed 60 months in any circumstance, commencing with the
last date actually worked in the specified capacity.



3212.3.  In the case of a peace officer who is designated under
subdivision (a) of Section 2250.1 of the Vehicle Code and who has
graduated from an academy certified by the Commission on Peace
Officer Standards and Training, when that officer is employed upon a
regular, full-time salary, the term "injury," as used in this
division, includes heart trouble and pneumonia which develops or
manifests itself during a period while that officer is in the service
of the Department of the California Highway Patrol. The compensation
which is awarded for the heart trouble or pneumonia shall include
full hospital, surgical, medical treatment, disability indemnity, and
death benefits as provided by this division.
   The heart trouble or pneumonia so developing or manifesting itself
shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of the
employment. However, a peace officer of the Department of the
California Highway Patrol, as designated under subdivision (a) of
Section 2250.1 of the Vehicle Code, shall have served five years or
more in that capacity or as a peace officer with the former
California State Police Division, or in both capacities, before the
presumption shall arise as to the compensability of heart trouble so
developing or manifesting itself. This presumption is disputable and
may be controverted by other evidence, but unless so controverted,
the appeals board is bound to find in accordance with it. This
presumption shall be extended to a member following termination of
service for a period of three calendar months for each full year of
the requisite service, but not to exceed 60 months in any
circumstance, commencing with the last date actually worked in the
specified capacity.
   The heart trouble or pneumonia so developing or manifesting itself
in these cases shall in no case be attributed to any disease
existing prior to that development or manifestation.
   The term "peace officers" as used herein shall be limited to those
employees of the Department of the California Highway Patrol who are
designated as peace officers under subdivision (a) of Section 2250.1
of the Vehicle Code.



3212.4.  In the case of a member of a University of California fire
department located at a campus or other facility administered by the
Regents of University of California, when any such member is employed
by such a department upon a regular, full-time salary, on a
nonprobationary basis, the term "injury" as used in this division
includes heart trouble, hernia, or pneumonia which develops or
manifests itself during a period while such member is in the service
of such a University of California fire department. The compensation
which is awarded for such heart trouble, hernia, or pneumonia shall
include full hospital, surgical, medical treatment, disability
indemnity, and death benefits as provided by the provisions of this
division.
   Such heart trouble, hernia, or pneumonia so developing or
manifesting itself shall be presumed to arise out of and in the
course of the employment. This presumption is disputable and may be
controverted by other evidence, but unless so controverted, the
appeals board is bound to find in accordance with it. This
presumption shall be extended to a member following termination of
service for a period of three calendar months for each full year of
the requisite service, but not to exceed 60 months in any
circumstance, commencing with the last date actually worked in the
specified capacity.
   Such heart trouble, hernia, or pneumonia so developing or
manifesting itself in such cases shall in no case be attributed to
any disease existing prior to such development or manifestation.
   The term "member" as used herein shall exclude those employees of
a University of California fire department whose principal duties are
those of a telephone operator, clerk, stenographer, machinist,
mechanic, or otherwise, and whose functions do not clearly fall
within the scope of active firefighting and prevention service.




3212.5.  In the case of a member of a police department of a city or
municipality, or a member of the State Highway Patrol, when any such
member is employed upon a regular, full-time salary, and in the case
of a sheriff or deputy sheriff, or an inspector or investigator in a
district attorney's office of any county, employed upon a regular,
full-time salary, the term "injury" as used in this division includes
heart trouble and pneumonia which develops or manifests itself
during a period while such member, sheriff, or deputy sheriff,
inspector or investigator is in the service of the police department,
the State Highway Patrol, the sheriff's office or the district
attorney's office, as the case may be. The compensation which is
awarded for such heart trouble or pneumonia shall include full
hospital, surgical, medical treatment, disability indemnity, and
death benefits as provided by the provisions of this division.
   Such heart trouble or pneumonia so developing or manifesting
itself shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of the
employment; provided, however, that the member of the police
department, State Highway Patrol, the sheriff or deputy sheriff, or
an inspector or investigator in a district attorney's office of any
county shall have served five years or more in such capacity before
the presumption shall arise as to the compensability of heart trouble
so developing or manifesting itself. This presumption is disputable
and may be controverted by other evidence, but unless so
controverted, the appeals board is bound to find in accordance with
it. This presumption shall be extended to a member following
termination of service for a period of three calendar months for each
full year of the requisite service, but not to exceed 60 months in
any circumstance, commencing with the last date actually worked in
the specified capacity.
   Such heart trouble or pneumonia so developing or manifesting
itself in such cases shall in no case be attributed to any disease
existing prior to such development or manifestation.
   The term "members" as used herein shall be limited to those
employees of police departments, the California Highway Patrol and
sheriffs' departments and inspectors and investigators of a district
attorney's office who are defined as peace officers in Section 830.1,
830.2, or 830.3 of the Penal Code.



3212.6.  In the case of a member of a police department of a city or
county, or a member of the sheriff's office of a county, or a member
of the California Highway Patrol, or an inspector or investigator in
a district attorney's office of any county whose principal duties
consist of active law enforcement service, or a prison or jail guard
or correctional officer who is employed by a public agency, when that
person is employed upon a regular, full-time salary, or in the case
of members of fire departments of any city, county, or district, or
other public or municipal corporations or political subdivisions,
when those members are employed on a regular fully paid basis, and in
the case of active firefighting members of the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection whose duties require firefighting and
first-aid response services, or of any county forestry or
firefighting department or unit, where those members are employed on
a regular fully paid basis, excepting those whose principal duties
are clerical or otherwise do not clearly fall within the scope of
active law enforcement, firefighting, or emergency first-aid response
service such as stenographers, telephone operators, and other
officeworkers, the term "injury" includes tuberculosis that develops
or manifests itself during a period while that member is in the
service of that department or office. The compensation that is
awarded for the tuberculosis shall include full hospital, surgical,
medical treatment, disability indemnity, and death benefits as
provided by the provisions of this division.
   The tuberculosis so developing or manifesting itself shall be
presumed to arise out of and in the course of the employment. This
presumption is disputable and may be controverted by other evidence,
but unless so controverted, the appeals board is bound to find in
accordance with it. This presumption shall be extended to a member
following termination of service for a period of three calendar
months for each full year of the requisite service, but not to exceed
60 months in any circumstance, commencing with the last date
actually worked in the specified capacity.
   A public entity may require applicants for employment in
firefighting positions who would be entitled to the benefits granted
by this section to be tested for infection for tuberculosis.




3212.7.  In the case of an employee in the Department of Justice
falling within the "state safety" class, when any such individual is
employed under civil service upon a regular, full-time salary, the
term "injury," as used in this division, includes heart trouble or
hernia or pneumonia or tuberculosis which develops or manifests
itself during the period while such individual is in the service of
the Department of Justice. The compensation which is awarded for any
such injury shall include full hospital, surgical, medical treatment,
disability indemnity, and death benefits as provided by the
provisions of this division.
   Such heart trouble, hernia, pneumonia, or tuberculosis so
developing or manifesting itself shall be presumed to arise out of
and in the course of the employment. This presumption is disputable
and may be controverted by other evidence but unless so controverted,
the appeals board is bound to find in accordance with it. This
presumption shall be extended to a member following termination of
service for a period of three calendar months for each full year of
the requisite service, but not to exceed 60 months in any
circumstance, commencing with the last date actually worked in the
specified capacity.
   Such heart trouble, hernia, pneumonia, or tuberculosis developing
or manifesting itself in such cases shall in no case be attributed to
any disease existing prior to such development or manifestation.




3212.8.  (a) In the case of members of a sheriff's office, of police
or fire departments of cities, counties, cities and counties,
districts, or other public or municipal corporations or political
subdivisions, or individuals described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing
with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, whether
those persons are volunteer, partly paid, or fully paid, and in the
case of active firefighting members of the Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection, or of any county forestry or firefighting
department or unit, whether voluntary, fully paid, or partly paid,
excepting those whose principal duties are clerical or otherwise do
not clearly fall within the scope of active law enforcement service
or active firefighting services, such as stenographers, telephone
operators, and other office workers, the term "injury" as used in
this division, includes a blood-borne infectious disease or
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin infection when any
part of the blood-borne infectious disease or methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus skin infection develops or manifests itself
during a period while that person is in the service of that office,
staff, division, department, or unit. The compensation that is
awarded for a blood-borne infectious disease or methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus skin infection shall include, but not be
limited to, full hospital, surgical, medical treatment, disability
indemnity, and death benefits, as provided by the workers'
compensation laws of this state.
   (b) (1) The blood-borne infectious disease or
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin infection so
developing or manifesting itself in those cases shall be presumed to
arise out of and in the course of the employment or service. This
presumption is disputable and may be controverted by other evidence,
but unless so controverted, the appeals board is bound to find in
accordance with it.
    (2) The blood-borne infectious disease presumption shall be
extended to a person covered by subdivision (a) following termination
of service for a period of three calendar months for each full year
of service, but not to exceed 60 months in any circumstance,
commencing with the last date actually worked in the specified
capacity.
   (3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus skin infection presumption shall be extended to
a person covered by subdivision (a) following termination of service
for a period of 90 days, commencing with the last day actually
worked in the specified capacity.
   (c) The blood-borne infectious disease or methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus skin infection so developing or manifesting
itself in those cases shall in no case be attributed to any disease
or skin infection existing prior to that development or
manifestation.
   (d) For the purposes of this section, "blood-borne infectious
disease" means a disease caused by exposure to pathogenic
microorganisms that are present in human blood that can cause disease
in humans, including those pathogenic microorganisms defined as
blood-borne pathogens by the Department of Industrial Relations.



3212.85.  (a) This section applies to peace officers described in
Sections 830.1 to 830.5, inclusive, of the Penal Code, and members of
a fire department.
   (b) The term "injury," as used in this division, includes illness
or resulting death due to exposure to a biochemical substance that
develops or occurs during a period in which any member described in
subdivision (a) is in the service of the department or unit.
   (c) The compensation that is awarded for injury pursuant to this
section shall include full hospital, surgical, medical treatment,
disability indemnity, and death benefits, as provided by this
division.
   (d) The injury that develops or manifests itself in these cases
shall be presumed to arise out of, and in the course of, the
employment. This presumption is disputable and may be controverted by
other evidence. Unless controverted, the appeals board is bound to
find in accordance with the presumption. This presumption shall be
extended to a member following termination of service for a period of
three calendar months for each full year of the requisite service,
but not to exceed 60 months in any circumstance, commencing with the
last date actually worked in the specified capacity.
   (e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
   (1) "Biochemical substance" means any biological or chemical agent
that may be used as a weapon of mass destruction, including, but not
limited to, any chemical warfare agent, weaponized biological agent,
or nuclear or radiological agent, as these terms are defined in
Section 11417 of the Penal Code.
   (2) "Members of a fire department" includes, but is not limited
to, an apprentice, volunteer, partly paid, or fully paid member of
any of the following:
   (A) A fire department of a city, county, city and county,
district, or other public or municipal corporation or political
subdivision.
   (B) A fire department of the University of California and the
California State University.
   (C) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
   (D) A county forestry or firefighting department or unit.




3212.9.  In the case of a member of a police department of a city,
county, or city and county, or a member of the sheriff's office of a
county, or a member of the California Highway Patrol, or a county
probation officer, or an inspector or investigator in a district
attorney's office of any county whose principal duties consist of
active law enforcement service, when that person is employed on a
regular, full-time salary, or in the case of a member of a fire
department of any city, county, or district, or other public or
municipal corporation or political subdivision, or any county
forestry or firefighting department or unit, when those members are
employed on a regular full-time salary, excepting those whose
principal duties are clerical or otherwise do not clearly fall within
the scope of active law enforcement or firefighting, such as
stenographers, telephone operators, and other officeworkers, the term
"injury" includes meningitis that develops or manifests itself
during a period while that person is in the service of that
department, office, or unit. The compensation that is awarded for the
meningitis shall include full hospital, surgical, medical treatment,
disability indemnity, and death benefits as provided by the
provisions of this division.
   The meningitis so developing or manifesting itself shall be
presumed to arise out of and in the course of the employment. This
presumption is disputable and may be controverted by other evidence,
but unless so controverted, the appeals board is bound to find in
accordance with it. This presumption shall be extended to a person
following termination of service for a period of three calendar
months for each full year of the requisite service, but not to exceed
60 months in any circumstance, commencing with the last date
actually worked in the specified capacity.




3212.10.  In the case of a peace officer of the Department of
Corrections who has custodial or supervisory duties of inmates or
parolees, or a peace officer of the Department of the Youth Authority
who has custodial or supervisory duties of wards or parolees, or a
peace officer as defined in Section 830.5 of the Penal Code and
employed by a local agency, the term "injury" as used in this
division includes heart trouble, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and
meningitis that develops or manifests itself during a period in which
any peace officer covered under this section is in the service of
the department or unit. The compensation that is awarded for that
injury shall include full hospital, surgical, medical treatment,
disability indemnity, and death benefits as provided by the
provisions of this division.
   The heart trouble, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and meningitis so
developing or manifesting itself shall be presumed to arise out of
and in the course of employment. This presumption is disputable and
may be controverted by other evidence, but unless so controverted,
the appeals board is bound to find in accordance with it. This
presumption shall be extended to a member following termination of
service for a period of three calendar months for each full year of
requisite service, but not to exceed 60 months in any circumstance,
commencing with the last date actually worked in the specified
capacity.


3212.11.  This section applies to both of the following: (a) active
lifeguards employed by a city, county, city and county, district, or
other public or municipal corporation or political subdivision, and
(b) active state lifeguards employed by the Department of Parks and
Recreation. The term "injury," as used in this division, includes
skin cancer that develops or manifests itself during the period of
the lifeguard's employment. The compensation awarded for that injury
shall include full hospital, surgical, and medical treatment,
disability indemnity, and death benefits, as provided by the
provisions of this division.
   Skin cancer so developing or manifesting itself shall be presumed
to arise out of and in the course of the employment. This presumption
is disputable and may be controverted by other evidence, but unless
so controverted, the appeals board shall find in accordance with it.
This presumption shall be extended to a lifeguard following
termination of service for a period of three calendar months for each
full year of the requisite service, but not to exceed 60 months in
any circumstance, commencing with the last date actually worked in
the specified capacity.
   Skin cancer so developing or manifesting itself in these cases
shall not be attributed to any disease existing prior to that
development or manifestation.
   This section shall only apply to lifeguards employed for more than
three consecutive months in a calendar year.



3212.12.  (a) This section applies to peace officers, as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 830.1 of the Penal Code, subdivisions (e),
(f), and (g) of Section 830.2 of the Penal Code, and corpsmembers,
as defined by Section 14302 of the Public Resources Code, and other
employees at the California Conservation Corps classified as any of
the following:

  Title                                    Class
  Backcounty Trails Camp Supervisor,       1030
  California Conservation Corps.......
  Conservationist I, California            1029
  Conservation Corps..................
  Conservationist II, California           1003
  Conservation Corps..................
  Conservationist II, Nursery              7370
  California Conservation Corps.......

   (b) The term "injury," as used in this division, includes Lyme
disease that develops or manifests itself during a period in which
any person described in subdivision (a) is in the service of the
department.
   (c) The compensation that is awarded for Lyme disease shall
include full hospital, surgical, medical treatment, disability
indemnity, and death benefits, as provided by this division.
   (d) Lyme disease so developing or manifesting itself in these
cases shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of the
employment. This presumption is disputable and may be controverted by
evidence that the Lyme disease is not reasonably linked to the work
performance. Unless so controverted, the appeals board shall find in
accordance with the presumption. This presumption shall be extended
to a person described in subdivision (a) following termination of
service for a period of three calendar months for each full year of
the requisite service, but not to exceed 60 months in any
circumstance, commencing with the last date actually worked in the
specified capacity.


3213.  In the case of a member of the University of California
Police Department who has graduated from an academy certified by the
Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, when he and all
members of the campus department of which he is a member have
graduated from such an academy, and when any such member is employed
upon a regular, full-time salary, the term "injury" as used in this
division includes heart trouble and pneumonia which develops or
manifests itself during a period while such member is in the service
of such campus department of the University of California Police
Department. The compensation which is awarded for such heart trouble
or pneumonia shall include full hospital, surgical, medical
treatment, disability indemnity, and death benefits as provided by
the provisions of this division.
   Such heart trouble or pneumonia so developing or manifesting
itself shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of the
employment; provided, however, that the member of the University of
California Police Department shall have served five years or more in
such capacity before the presumption shall arise as to the
compensability of heart trouble so developing or manifesting itself.
This presumption is disputable and may be controverted by other
evidence, but unless so controverted, the appeals board is bound to
find in accordance with it. This presumption shall be extended to a
member following termination of service for a period of three
calendar months for each full year of the requisite service, but not
to exceed 60 months in any circumstance, commencing with the last
date actually worked in the specified capacity.
   Such heart trouble or pneumonia so developing or manifesting
itself in such cases shall in no case be attributed to any disease
existing prior to such development or manifestation.
   As used in this section:
   (a) "Members" shall be limited to those employees of the
University of California Police Department who are defined as peace
officers in Section 830.2 of the Penal Code.
   (b) "Campus" shall include any campus or other installation
maintained under the jurisdiction of the Regents of the University of
California.
   (c) "Campus department" means all members of the University of
California Police Department who are assigned and serve on a
particular campus.



3213.2.  (a) In the case of a member of a police department of a
city, county, or city and county, or a member of the sheriff's office
of a county, or a peace officer employed by the Department of the
California Highway Patrol, or a peace officer employed by the
University of California, who has been employed for at least five
years as a peace officer on a regular, full-time salary and has been
required to wear a duty belt as a condition of employment, the term
"injury," as used in this division, includes lower back impairments.
The compensation that is awarded for lower back impairments shall
include full hospital, surgical, medical treatment, disability
indemnity, and death benefits as provided by the provisions of this
division.
   (b) The lower back impairment so developing or manifesting itself
in the peace officer shall be presumed to arise out of and in the
course of the employment. This presumption is disputable and may be
controverted by other evidence, but unless so controverted, the
appeals board is bound to find in accordance with it. This
presumption shall be extended to a person following termination of
service for a period of three calendar months for each full year of
the requisite service, but not to exceed 60 months in any
circumstance, commencing with the last date actually worked in the
specified capacity.
   (c) For purposes of this section, "duty belt" means a belt used
for the purpose of holding a gun, handcuffs, baton, and other items
related to law enforcement.


3214.  (a) The Department of Corrections and the Department of the
Youth Authority shall, in conjunction with all recognized employee
representative associations, develop policy and implement the workers'
compensation early intervention program by December 31, 1989, for
all department employees who sustain an injury. The program shall
include, but not be limited to, counseling by an authorized
independent early intervention counselor and the services of an
agreed medical panel to assist in timely decisions regarding
compensability. Costs of services through early intervention shall be
borne by the departments.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to reduce all costs
associated with the delivery of workers' compensation benefits, in
balance with the need to ensure timely and adequate benefits to the
injured worker. Toward this goal the workers' compensation early
intervention program was established in the Department of Corrections
and the Department of the Youth Authority. The fundamental concept
of the program is to settle disputes rather than to litigate them.
This is a worthwhile concept in terms of cost control for the
employer and timely receipt of benefits for the worker. To ascertain
the effectiveness of the program is crucial in helping guide policy
in this arena.



3215.  Except as otherwise permitted by law, any person acting
individually or through his or her employees or agents, who offers,
delivers, receives, or accepts any rebate, refund, commission,
preference, patronage, dividend, discount or other consideration,
whether in the form of money or otherwise, as compensation or
inducement for referring clients or patients to perform or obtain
services or benefits pursuant to this division, is guilty of a crime.



3217.  (a) Section 3215 shall not be construed to prevent the
recommendation of professional employment where that recommendation
is not prohibited by the Rules of Professional Conduct of the State
Bar.
   (b) Section 3215 shall not be construed to prohibit a public
defender or assigned counsel from making known his or her
availability as a criminal defense attorney to persons unable to
afford legal counsel, whether or not those persons are in custody.
   (c) Any person who commits an act that violates both Section 3215
and either Section 650 of the Business and Professions Code or
Section 750 of the Insurance Code shall, upon conviction, have
judgment and sentence imposed for only one violation for any act.
   (d) Section 3215 shall not be construed to prohibit the payment or
receipt of consideration or services that is lawful pursuant to
Section 650 of the Business and Professions Code.
   (e) Notwithstanding Sections 3215 and 3219, and Section 750 of the
Insurance Code, nothing shall prevent an attorney at law or a law
firm from providing any person or entity with legal advice,
information, or legal services, including the providing of printed,
copied, or written documents, either without charge or for an
otherwise lawfully agreed upon attorney fee.
   (f) Section 3215 shall not be construed to prohibit a workers'
compensation insurer from offering, and an employer from accepting, a
workers' compensation insurance policy with rates that reflect
premium discounts based upon the employer securing coverage for
occupational or nonoccupational illnesses or injuries from a health
care service plan or disability insurer that is owned by, affiliated
with, or has a contractual relationship with, the workers'
compensation insurer.


3218.  A violation of Section 3215 is a public offense punishable
upon a first conviction by incarceration in the county jail for not
more than one year, or by incarceration in the state prison, or by a
fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both
incarceration and fine. A second or subsequent conviction is
punishable by incarceration in state prison.



3219.  (a) (1) Except as otherwise permitted by law, any person
acting individually or through his or her employees or agents, who
offers or delivers any rebate, refund, commission, preference,
patronage, dividend, discount, or other consideration to any adjuster
of claims for compensation, as defined in Section 3207, as
compensation, inducement, or reward for the referral or settlement of
any claim, is guilty of a felony.
   (2) Except as otherwise permitted by law, any adjuster of claims
for compensation, as defined in Section 3207, who accepts or receives
any rebate, refund, commission, preference, patronage, dividend,
discount, or other consideration, as compensation, inducement, or
reward for the referral or settlement of any claim, is guilty of a
felony.
   (b) Any contract for professional services secured by any medical
clinic, laboratory, physician or other health care provider in this
state in violation of Section 550 of the Penal Code, Section 1871.4
of the Insurance Code, Section 650 or 651 of the Business and
Professions Code, or Section 3215 or subdivision (a) of Section 3219
of this code is void. In any action against any medical clinic,
laboratory, physician, or other health care provider, or the owners
or operators thereof, under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 17000)
or Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17200) of Division 7 of the
Business and Professions Code, any judgment shall include an order
divesting the medical clinic, laboratory, physician, or other health
care provider, and the owners and operators thereof, of any fees and
other compensation received pursuant to any such void contract. Those
fees and compensation shall be recoverable as additional civil
penalties under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 17000) or Chapter
5 (commencing with Section 17200) of Division 7 of the Business and
Professions Code. The judgment may also include an order prohibiting
the person from further participating in any manner in the entity in
which that person directly or indirectly owned or operated for a time
period that the court deems appropriate. For the purpose of this
section, "operated" means participated in the management, direction,
or control of the entity.
   (c) Notwithstanding Section 17206 or any other provision of law,
any fees recovered pursuant to subdivision (b) in an action involving
professional services related to the provision of workers'
compensation shall be allocated as follows: if the action is brought
by the Attorney General, one-half of the penalty collected shall be
paid to the State General Fund, and one-half of the penalty collected
shall be paid to the Workers' Compensation Fraud Account in the
Insurance Fund; if the action is brought by a district attorney,
one-half of the penalty collected shall be paid to the treasurer of
the county in which the judgment was entered, and one-half of the
penalty collected shall be paid to the Workers' Compensation Fraud
Account in the Insurance Fund; if the action is brought by a city
attorney or city prosecutor, one-half of the penalty collected shall
be paid to the treasurer of the city in which the judgment was
entered, and one-half of the penalty collected shall be paid to the
Workers' Compensation Fraud Account in the Insurance Fund. Moneys
deposited into the Workers' Compensation Fraud Account pursuant to
this subdivision shall be used in the investigation and prosecution
of workers' compensation fraud, as appropriated by the Legislature.

back to top

3300.  As used in this division, "employer" means:
   (a) The State and every State agency.
   (b) Each county, city, district, and all public and quasi public
corporations and public agencies therein.
   (c) Every person including any public service corporation, which
has any natural person in service.
   (d) The legal representative of any deceased employer.



3301.  As used in this division, "employer" excludes the following:
   (a) Any person while acting solely as the sponsor of a bowling
team.
   (b) Any private, nonprofit organization while acting solely as the
sponsor of a person who, as a condition of sentencing by a superior
or municipal court, is performing services for the organization.
   The exclusions of this section do not exclude any person or
organization from the application of this division which is otherwise
an employer for the purposes of this division.



3302.  (a) (1) When a licensed contractor enters an agreement with a
temporary employment agency, employment referral service, labor
contractor, or other similar entity for the entity to supply the
contractor with an individual to perform acts or contracts for which
the contractor's license is required under Chapter 9 (commencing with
Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code and
the licensed contractor is responsible for supervising the employee'
s work, the temporary employment agency, employment referral service,
labor contractor, or other similar entity shall pay workers'
compensation premiums based on the contractor's experience
modification rating.
   (2) The temporary employment agency, employment referral service,
labor contractor, or other similar entity described in paragraph (1)
shall report to the insurer both of the following:
   (A) Its payroll on a monthly basis in sufficient detail to allow
the insurer to determine the number of workers provided and the wages
paid to these workers during the period the workers were supplied to
the licensed contractor.
   (B) The licensed contractor's name, address, and experience
modification factor as reported by the licensed contractor.
   (C) The workers' compensation classifications associated with the
payroll reported pursuant to subparagraph (A). Classifications shall
be assigned in accordance with the rules set forth in the California
Workers' Compensation Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan published by
the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau.
   (b) The temporary employment agency, employment referral service,
labor contractor, or other similar entity supplying the individual
under the conditions specified in subdivision (a) shall be solely
responsible for the individual's workers' compensation, as specified
in subdivision (a).
   (c) Nothing in this section is intended to change existing law in
effect on December 31, 2002, as it relates to the sole remedy
provisions of this division and the special employer provisions of
Section 11663 of the Insurance Code.
   (d) A licensed contractor that is using a temporary worker
supplied pursuant to subdivision (a) shall notify the temporary
employment agency, employment referral service, labor contractor, or
other similar entity that supplied that temporary worker when either
of the following occurs:
   (1) The temporary worker is being used on a public works project.
   (2) The contractor reassigns a temporary worker to a position
other than the classification to which the worker was originally
assigned.
   (e) A temporary employment agency, employment referral service,
labor contractor, or other similar entity may pass through to a
licensed contractor any additional costs incurred as a result of this
section.

back to top

3350.  Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions set
forth in this article shall govern the construction and meaning of
the terms and phrases used in this division.



3351.  "Employee" means every person in the service of an employer
under any appointment or contract of hire or apprenticeship, express
or implied, oral or written, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed,
and includes:
   (a) Aliens and minors.
   (b) All elected and appointed paid public officers.
   (c) All officers and members of boards of directors of
quasi-public or private corporations while rendering actual service
for the corporations for pay; provided that, where the officers and
directors of the private corporation are the sole shareholders
thereof, the corporation and the officers and directors shall come
under the compensation provisions of this division only by election
as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 4151.
   (d) Except as provided in subdivision (h) of Section 3352, any
person employed by the owner or occupant of a residential dwelling
whose duties are incidental to the ownership, maintenance, or use of
the dwelling, including the care and supervision of children, or
whose duties are personal and not in the course of the trade,
business, profession, or occupation of the owner or occupant.
   (e) All persons incarcerated in a state penal or correctional
institution while engaged in assigned work or employment as defined
in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 10021 of Title 8 of
the California Code of Regulations, or engaged in work performed
under contract.
   (f) All working members of a partnership or limited liability
company receiving wages irrespective of profits from the partnership
or limited liability company; provided that where the working members
of the partnership or limited liability company are general partners
or managers, the partnership or limited liability company and the
partners or managers shall come under the compensation provisions of
this division only by election as provided in subdivision (a) of
Section 4151. If a private corporation is a general partner or
manager, "working members of a partnership or limited liability
company" shall include the corporation and the officers and directors
of the corporation, provided that the officers and directors are the
sole shareholders of the corporation. If a limited liability company
is a partner or member, "working members of the partnership or
limited liability company" shall include the managers of the limited
liability company.
   (g) For the purposes of subdivisions (c) and (f), the persons
holding the power to revoke a trust as to shares of a private
corporation or as to general partnership or limited liability company
interests held in the trust, shall be deemed to be the shareholders
of the private corporation, or the general partners of the
partnership, or the managers of the limited liability company.



3351.5.  "Employee" includes:
   (a) Any person whose employment training is arranged by the State
Department of Rehabilitation with any employer. Such person shall be
deemed an employee of such employer for workers' compensation
purposes; provided that, the department shall bear the full amount of
any additional workers' compensation insurance premium expense
incurred by the employer due to the provisions of this section.
   (b) Any person defined in subdivision (d) of Section 3351 who
performs domestic service comprising in-home supportive services
under Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300), Chapter 3, Part 3,
Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. For purposes of
Section 3352, such person shall be deemed an employee of the
recipient of such services for workers' compensation purposes if the
state or county makes or provides for direct payment to such person
or to the recipient of in-home supportive services for the purchase
of services, subject to the provisions of Section 12302.2 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code.
   (c) Any person while engaged by contract for the creation of a
specially ordered or commissioned work of authorship in which the
parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that
the work shall be considered a work made for hire, as defined in
Section 101 of Title 17 of the United States Code, and the ordering
or commissioning party obtains ownership of all the rights comprised
in the copyright in the work.



3352.  "Employee" excludes the following:
   (a) Any person defined in subdivision (d) of Section 3351 who is
employed by his or her parent, spouse, or child.
   (b) Any person performing services in return for aid or sustenance
only, received from any religious, charitable, or relief
organization.
   (c) Any person holding an appointment as deputy clerk or deputy
sheriff appointed for his or her own convenience, and who receives no
compensation from the county or municipal corporation or from the
citizens thereof for his or her services as the deputy. This
exclusion is operative only as to employment by the county or
municipal corporation and does not deprive any person so deputized
from recourse against a private person employing him or her for
injury occurring in the course of and arising out of the employment.
   (d) Any person performing voluntary services at or for a
recreational camp, hut, or lodge operated by a nonprofit
organization, exempt from federal income tax under Section 101(6) of
the Internal Revenue Code, of which he or she or a member of his or
her family is a member and who receives no compensation for those
services other than meals, lodging, or transportation.
   (e) Any person performing voluntary service as a ski patrolman who
receives no compensation for those services other than meals or
lodging or the use of ski tow or ski lift facilities.
   (f) Any person employed by a ski lift operator to work at a snow
ski area who is relieved of and not performing any prescribed duties,
while participating in recreational activities on his or her own
initiative.
   (g) Any person, other than a regular employee, participating in
sports or athletics who receives no compensation for the
participation other than the use of athletic equipment, uniforms,
transportation, travel, meals, lodgings, or other expenses incidental
thereto.
   (h) Any person defined in subdivision (d) of Section 3351 who was
employed by the employer to be held liable for less than 52 hours
during the 90 calendar days immediately preceding the date of the
injury for injuries, as defined in Section 5411, or during the 90
calendar days immediately preceding the date of the last employment
in an occupation exposing the employee to the hazards of the disease
or injury for injuries, as defined in Section 5412, or who earned
less than one hundred dollars ($100) in wages from the employer
during the 90 calendar days immediately preceding the date of the
injury for injuries, as defined in Section 5411, or during the 90
calendar days immediately preceding the date of the last employment
in an occupation exposing the employee to the hazards of the disease
or injury for injuries, as defined in Section 5412.
   (i) Any person performing voluntary service for a public agency or
a private, nonprofit organization who receives no remuneration for
the services other than meals, transportation, lodging, or
reimbursement for incidental expenses.
   (j) Any person, other than a regular employee, performing
officiating services relating to amateur sporting events sponsored by
any public agency or private, nonprofit organization, who receives
no remuneration for these services other than a stipend for each day
of service no greater than the amount established by the Department
of Human Resources as a per diem expense for employees or officers of
the state. The stipend shall be presumed to cover incidental
expenses involved in officiating, including, but not limited to,
meals, transportation, lodging, rule books and courses, uniforms, and
appropriate equipment.
   (k) Any student participating as an athlete in amateur sporting
events sponsored by any public agency, public or private nonprofit
college, university or school, who receives no remuneration for the
participation other than the use of athletic equipment, uniforms,
transportation, travel, meals, lodgings, scholarships, grants-in-aid,
or other expenses incidental thereto.
   (l) Any law enforcement officer who is regularly employed by a
local or state law enforcement agency in an adjoining state and who
is deputized to work under the supervision of a California peace
officer pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 832.6
of the Penal Code.
   (m) Any law enforcement officer who is regularly employed by the
Oregon State Police, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and
Public Safety, or the Arizona Department of Public Safety and who is
acting as a peace officer in this state pursuant to subdivision (a)
of Section 830.32 of the Penal Code.
   (n) Any person, other than a regular employee, performing services
as a sports official for an entity sponsoring an intercollegiate or
interscholastic sports event, or any person performing services as a
sports official for a public agency, public entity, or a private
nonprofit organization, which public agency, public entity, or
private nonprofit organization sponsors an amateur sports event. For
purposes of this subdivision, "sports official" includes an umpire,
referee, judge, scorekeeper, timekeeper, or other person who is a
neutral participant in a sports event.
   (o) Any person who is an owner-builder, as defined in subdivision
(a) of Section 50692 of the Health and Safety Code, who is
participating in a mutual self-help housing program, as defined in
Section 50087 of the Health and Safety Code, sponsored by a nonprofit
corporation.


3352.94.  "Employee" excludes a disaster service worker while
performing services as a disaster service worker except as provided
in Chapter 10 of this part. "Employee" excludes any unregistered
person performing like services as a disaster service worker without
pay or other consideration, except as provided by Section 3211.92 of
this code.



3353.  "Independent contractor" means any person who renders service
for a specified recompense for a specified result, under the control
of his principal as to the result of his work only and not as to the
means by which such result is accomplished.



3354.  Employers of employees defined by subdivision (d) of Section
3351 shall not be subject to the provisions of Sections 3710, 3710.1,
3710.2, 3711, 3712, and 3722, or any other penalty provided by law,
for failure to secure the payment of compensation for such employees.
   This section shall not apply to employers of employees specified
in subdivision (b) of Section 3715, with respect to such employees.




3355.  As used in subdivision (d) of Section 3351, the term "course
of trade, business, profession, or occupation" includes all services
tending toward the preservation, maintenance, or operation of the
business, business premises, or business property of the employer.



3356.  As used in subdivision (d) of Section 3351 and in Section
3355, the term "trade, business, profession, or occupation" includes
any undertaking actually engaged in by the employer with some degree
of regularity, irrespective of the trade name, articles of
incorporation, or principal business of the employer.



3357.  Any person rendering service for another, other than as an
independent contractor, or unless expressly excluded herein, is
presumed to be an employee.


3358.  Watchmen for nonindustrial establishments, paid by
subscription by several persons, are not employees under this
division. In other cases where watchmen, paid by subscription by
several persons, have at the time of the injury sustained by them
taken out and maintained in force insurance upon themselves as
self-employing persons, conferring benefits equal to those conferred
by this division, the employer is not liable under this division.



3360.  Workmen associating themselves under a partnership agreement,
the principal purpose of which is the performance of the labor on a
particular piece of work are employees of the person having such work
executed. In respect to injuries which occur while such workmen
maintain in force insurance in an insurer, insuring to themselves and
all persons employed by them benefits identical with those conferred
by this division the person for whom such work is to be done is not
liable as an employer under this division.



3361.  Each member registered as an active firefighting member of
any regularly organized volunteer fire department, having official
recognition, and full or partial support of the government of the
county, city, town, or district in which the volunteer fire
department is located, is an employee of that county, city, town, or
district for the purposes of this division, and is entitled to
receive compensation from the county, city, town or district in
accordance with the provisions thereof.



3361.5.  Notwithstanding Section 3351, a volunteer, unsalaried
person authorized by the governing board of a recreation and park
district to perform volunteer services for the district shall, upon
the adoption of a resolution of the governing board of the district
so declaring, be deemed an employee of the district for the purposes
of this division and shall be entitled to the workers' compensation
benefits provided by this division for any injury sustained by him or
her while engaged in the performance of any service under the
direction and control of the governing board of the recreation and
park district.


3362.  Each male or female member registered as an active policeman
or policewoman of any regularly organized police department having
official recognition and full or partial support of the government of
the county, city, town or district in which such police department
is located, shall, upon the adoption of a resolution by the governing
body of the county, city, town or district so declaring, be deemed
an employee of such county, city, town or district for the purpose of
this division and shall be entitled to receive compensation from
such county, city, town or district in accordance with the provisions
thereof.


3362.5.  Whenever any qualified person is deputized or appointed by
the proper authority as a reserve or auxiliary sheriff or city police
officer, a deputy sheriff, or a reserve police officer of a regional
park district or a transit district, and is assigned specific police
functions by that authority, the person is an employee of the
county, city, city and county, town, or district for the purposes of
this division while performing duties as a peace officer if the
person is not performing services as a disaster service worker for
purposes of Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 4351).



3363.  Each member registered with the Department of Fish and Game
as an active member of the reserve fish and game warden program of
the department is an employee of the department for the purposes of
this division, and is entitled to receive compensation from the
department in accordance with the provisions thereof.




3363.5.  (a) Notwithstanding Sections 3351, 3352, and 3357, a person
who performs voluntary service without pay for a public agency, as
designated and authorized by the governing body of the agency or its
designee, shall, upon adoption of a resolution by the governing body
of the agency so declaring, be deemed to be an employee of the agency
for purposes of this division while performing such service.
   (b) For purposes of this section, "voluntary service without pay"
shall include services performed by any person, who receives no
remuneration other than meals, transportation, lodging, or
reimbursement for incidental expenses.


3363.6.  (a) Notwithstanding Sections 3351, 3352, and 3357, a person
who performs voluntary service without pay for a private, nonprofit
organization, as designated and authorized by the board of directors
of the organization, shall, when the board of directors of the
organization, in its sole discretion, so declares in writing and
prior to the injury, be deemed an employee of the organization for
purposes of this division while performing such service.
   (b) For purposes of this section, "voluntary service without pay"
shall include the performance of services by a parent, without
remuneration in cash, when rendered to a cooperative parent
participation nursery school if such service is required as a
condition of participation in the organization.
   (c) For purposes of this section, "voluntary service without pay"
shall include the performance of services by a person who receives no
remuneration other than meals, transportation, lodging, or
reimbursement for incidental expenses.



3364.  Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 3352, a volunteer,
unsalaried member of a sheriff's reserve in any county who is not
deemed an employee of the county under Section 3362.5, shall, upon
the adoption of a resolution of the board of supervisors declaring
that the member is deemed an employee of the county for the purposes
of this division, be entitled to the workers' compensation benefits
provided by this division for any injury sustained by him or her
while engaged in the performance of any active law enforcement
service under the direction and control of the sheriff.



3364.5.  Notwithstanding Section 3351 of the Labor Code, 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.



3364.55.  A ward of the juvenile court engaged in rehabilitative
work without pay, under an assignment by order of the juvenile court
to a work project on public property within the jurisdiction of any
governmental entity, including the federal government, shall, upon
the adoption of a resolution of the board of supervisors declaring
that such ward is deemed an employee of the county for purposes of
this division, be entitled to the workers' compensation benefits
provided by this division for injury sustained while in the
performance of such assigned work project, provided:
   (a) That such ward shall not be entitled to any temporary
disability indemnity benefits.
   (b) That in determining permanent disability benefits, average
weekly earnings shall be taken at the minimum provided therefor in
Section 4453.



3364.6.  Notwithstanding Sections 3351 and 3352, juvenile traffic
offenders pursuant to Section 564 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, or juvenile probationers pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
725 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, engaged in rehabilitative
work without pay, under an assignment by order of the juvenile court
to a work project on public property within the jurisdiction of any
governmental entity, including the federal government, shall, upon
the adoption of a resolution of the board of supervisors declaring
that such traffic offenders or probationers, or both such groups,
shall be deemed employees of the county for purposes of this
division, be entitled to the workers' compensation benefits provided
by this division for injury sustained while in the performance of
such assigned work project, provided:
   (a) That such traffic offender or probationer shall not be
entitled to any temporary disability indemnity benefits.
   (b) That in determining permanent disability benefits, average
weekly earnings shall be taken at the minimum provided therefor in
Section 4453.


3364.7.  Notwithstanding Sections 3351 and 3352, a ward of the
juvenile court committed to a regional youth educational facility
pursuant to Article 24.5 (commencing with Section 894), engaged in
rehabilitative work without pay on public property within the
jurisdiction of any governmental entity, including the federal
government, shall, upon the adoption of a resolution of the board of
supervisors declaring that such wards shall be deemed employees of
the county for purposes of this division, be entitled to the workers'
compensation benefits provided by this division for injury sustained
while in the performance of such public work project, provided:
   (a) That the ward shall not be entitled to any disability
indemnity benefits.
   (b) That in determining permanent disability benefits, average
weekly earnings shall be taken at the minimum provided therefor in
Section 4453.



3365.  For the purposes of this division:
   (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), each person
engaged in suppressing a fire pursuant to Section 4153 or 4436 of the
Public Resources Code, and each person (other than an independent
contractor or an employee of an independent contractor) engaged in
suppressing a fire at the request of a public officer or employee
charged with the duty of preventing or suppressing fires, is deemed,
except when the entity is the United States or an agency thereof, to
be an employee of the public entity that he is serving or assisting
in the suppression of the fire, and is entitled to receive
compensation from such public entity in accordance with the
provisions of this division. When the entity being served is the
United States or an agency thereof, the State Department of
Corrections shall be deemed the employer and the cost of workers'
compensation may be considered in fixing the reimbursement paid by
the United States for the service of prisoners. A person is engaged
in suppressing a fire only during the period he (1) is actually
fighting the fire, (2) is being transported to or from the fire, or
(3) is engaged in training exercises for fire suppression.
   (b) A member of the armed forces of the United States while
serving under military command in suppressing a fire is not an
employee of a public entity.
   (c) Neither a person who contracts to furnish aircraft with pilots
to a public entity for fire prevention or suppression service, nor
his employees, shall be deemed to be employees of the public entity;
but a person who contracts to furnish aircraft to a public entity for
fire prevention or suppression service and to pilot the aircraft
himself shall be deemed to be an employee of the public entity.




3366.  (a) For the purposes of this division, each person engaged in
the performance of active law enforcement service as part of the
posse comitatus or power of the county, and each person (other than
an independent contractor or an employee of an independent
contractor) engaged in assisting any peace officer in active law
enforcement service at the request of such peace officer, is deemed
to be an employee of the public entity that he or she is serving or
assisting in the enforcement of the law, and is entitled to receive
compensation from the public entity in accordance with the provisions
of this division.
   (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide workers'
compensation benefits to a person who is any of the following:
   (1) A law enforcement officer who is regularly employed by a local
or state law enforcement agency in an adjoining state and who is
deputized to work under the supervision of a California peace officer
pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 832.6 of the
Penal Code.
   (2) A law enforcement officer who is regularly employed by the
Oregon State Police, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and
Public Safety, or the Arizona Department of Public Safety and who is
acting as a peace officer in this state pursuant to subdivision (a)
of Section 830.32 of the Penal Code.



3367.  (a) For purposes of this division any person voluntarily
rendering technical assistance to a public entity to prevent a fire,
explosion, or other hazardous occurrence, at the request of a duly
authorized fire or law enforcement officer of that public entity is
deemed an employee of the public entity to whom the technical
assistance was rendered, and is entitled to receive compensation
benefits in accordance with the provisions of this division.
Rendering technical assistance shall include the time that person is
traveling to, or returning from, the location of the potentially
hazardous condition for which he or she has been requested to
volunteer his or her assistance.
   (b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide workers'
compensation benefits to a person who is any of the following:
   (1) A law enforcement officer who is regularly employed by a local
or state law enforcement agency in an adjoining state and who is
deputized to work under the supervision of a California peace officer
pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 832.6 of the
Penal Code.
   (2) A law enforcement officer who is regularly employed by the
Oregon State Police, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and
Public Safety, or the Arizona Department of Public Safety and who is
acting as a peace officer in this state pursuant to subdivision (a)
of Section 830.32 of the Penal Code.



3368.  Notwithstanding any provision of this code or the Education
Code to the contrary, the school district, county superintendent of
schools, or any school administered by the State Department of
Education under whose supervision work experience education,
cooperative vocational education, or community classrooms, as defined
by regulations adopted by the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
or student apprenticeship programs registered by the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards for registered student apprentices, are
provided, shall be considered the employer under Division 4
(commencing with Section 3200) of persons receiving this training
unless the persons during the training are being paid a cash wage or
salary by a private employer. However, in the case of students being
paid a cash wage or salary by a private employer in supervised work
experience education or cooperative vocational education, or in the
case of registered student apprentices, the school district, county
superintendent of schools, or any school administered by the State
Department of Education may elect to provide workers' compensation
coverage, unless the person or firm under whom the persons are
receiving work experience or occupational training elects to provide
workers' compensation coverage. If the school district or other
educational agency elects to provide workers' compensation coverage
for students being paid a cash wage or salary by a private employer
in supervised work experience education or cooperative vocational
education, it may only be for a transitional period not to exceed
three months. A registered student apprentice is a registered
apprentice who is (1) at least 16 years of age, (2) a full-time high
school student in the 10th, 11th, or 12th grade, and (3) in an
apprenticeship program for registered student apprentices registered
with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. An apprentice, while
attending related and supplemental instruction classes, shall be
considered to be in the employ of the apprentice's employer and not
subject to this section, unless the apprentice is unemployed.
Whenever this work experience education, cooperative vocational
education, community classroom education, or student apprenticeship
program registered by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards for
registered student apprentices, is under the supervision of a
regional occupational center or program operated by two or more
school districts pursuant to Section 52301 of the Education Code, the
district of residence of the persons receiving the training shall be
deemed the employer for the purposes of this section.



3369.  The inclusion of any person or groups of persons within the
coverage of this division shall not cause any such person or group of
persons to be within the coverage of any other statute unless any
other such statute expressly so provides.



3370.  (a) Each inmate of a state penal or correctional institution
shall be entitled to the workers' compensation benefits provided by
this division for injury arising out of and in the course of assigned
employment and for the death of the inmate if the injury proximately
causes death, subject to all of the following conditions:
   (1) The inmate was not injured as the result of an assault in
which the inmate was the initial aggressor, or as the result of the
intentional act of the inmate injuring himself or herself.
   (2) The inmate shall not be entitled to any temporary disability
indemnity benefits while incarcerated in a state prison.
   (3) No benefits shall be paid to an inmate while he or she is
incarcerated. The period of benefit payment shall instead commence
upon release from incarceration. If an inmate who has been released
from incarceration, and has been receiving benefits under this
section, is reincarcerated in a city or county jail, or state penal
or correctional institution, the benefits shall cease immediately
upon the inmate's reincarceration and shall not be paid for the
duration of the reincarceration.
   (4) This section shall not be construed to provide for the payment
to an inmate, upon release from incarceration, of temporary
disability benefits which were not paid due to the prohibition of
paragraph (2).
   (5) In determining temporary and permanent disability indemnity
benefits for the inmate, the average weekly earnings shall be taken
at not more than the minimum amount set forth in Section 4453.
   (6) Where a dispute exists respecting an inmate's rights to the
workers' compensation benefits provided herein, the inmate may file
an application with the appeals board to resolve the dispute. The
application may be filed at any time during the inmate's
incarceration.
   (7) After release or discharge from a correctional institution,
the former inmate shall have one year in which to file an original
application with the appeals board, unless the time of injury is such
that it would allow more time under Section 5804 of the Labor Code.
   (8) The percentage of disability to total disability shall be
determined as for the occupation of a laborer of like age by applying
the schedule for the determination of the percentages of permanent
disabilities prepared and adopted by the administrative director.
   (9) This division shall be the exclusive remedy against the state
for injuries occurring while engaged in assigned work or work under
contract. Nothing in this division shall affect any right or remedy
of an injured inmate for injuries not compensated by this division.
   (b) The Department of Corrections shall present to each inmate of
a state penal or correctional institution, prior to his or her first
assignment to work at the institution, a printed statement of his or
her rights under this division, and a description of procedures to be
followed in filing for benefits under this section. The statement
shall be approved by the administrative director and be posted in a
conspicuous place at each place where an inmate works.
   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, the
Department of Corrections shall have medical control over treatment
provided an injured inmate while incarcerated in a state prison,
except, that in serious cases, the inmate is entitled, upon request,
to the services of a consulting physician.
   (d) Paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of subdivision (a) shall also be
applicable to an inmate of a state penal or correctional institution
who would otherwise be entitled to receive workers' compensation
benefits based on an injury sustained prior to his or her
incarceration. However, temporary and permanent disability benefits
which, except for this subdivision, would otherwise be payable to an
inmate during incarceration based on an injury sustained prior to
incarceration shall be paid to the dependents of the inmate. If the
inmate has no dependents, the temporary disability benefits which,
except for this subdivision, would otherwise be payable during the
inmate's incarceration shall be paid to the State Treasury to the
credit of the Uninsured Employers Fund, and the permanent disability
benefits which would otherwise be payable during the inmate's
incarceration shall be held in trust for the inmate by the Department
of Corrections during the period of incarceration.
   For purposes of this subdivision, "dependents" means the inmate's
spouse or children, including an inmate's former spouse due to
divorce and the inmate's children from that marriage.
   (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, an
employee who is an inmate, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section
3351 who is eligible for vocational rehabilitation services as
defined in Section 4635 shall only be eligible for direct placement
services.


3371.  If the issues are complex or if the inmate applicant
requests, the Department of Corrections shall furnish a list of
qualified workers' compensation attorneys to permit the inmate
applicant to choose an attorney to represent him or her before the
appeals board.

back to top

3501.  (a) A child under the age of 18 years, or a child of any age
found by any trier of fact, whether contractual, administrative,
regulatory, or judicial, to be physically or mentally incapacitated
from earning, shall be conclusively presumed to be wholly dependent
for support upon a deceased employee-parent with whom that child is
living at the time of injury resulting in death of the parent or for
whose maintenance the parent was legally liable at the time of injury
resulting in death of the parent, there being no surviving totally
dependent parent.
   (b) A spouse to whom a deceased employee is married at the time of
death shall be conclusively presumed to be wholly dependent for
support upon the deceased employee if the surviving spouse earned
thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) or less in the twelve months
immediately preceding the death.



3502.  In all other cases, questions of entire or partial dependency
and questions as to who are dependents and the extent of their
dependency shall be determined in accordance with the facts as they
exist at the time of the injury of the employee.




3503.  No person is a dependent of any deceased employee unless in
good faith a member of the family or household of the employee, or
unless the person bears to the employee the relation of husband or
wife, child, posthumous child, adopted child or stepchild,
grandchild, father or mother, father-in-law or mother-in-law,
grandfather or grandmother, brother or sister, uncle or aunt,
brother-in-law or sister-in-law, nephew or niece.

back to top

3550.  (a) Every employer subject to the compensation provisions of
this division shall post and keep posted in a conspicuous location
frequented by employees, and where the notice may be easily read by
employees during the hours of the workday, a notice that states the
name of the current compensation insurance carrier of the employer,
or when such is the fact, that the employer is self-insured, and who
is responsible for claims adjustment.
   (b) Failure to keep any notice required by this section
conspicuously posted shall constitute a misdemeanor, and shall be
prima facie evidence of noninsurance.
   (c) This section shall not apply with respect to the employment of
employees as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 3351.
   (d) The form and content of the notice required by this section
shall be prescribed by the administrative director, after
consultation with the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers'
Compensation, and shall advise employees that all injuries should be
reported to their employer. The notice shall be easily
understandable. It shall be posted in both English and Spanish where
there are Spanish-speaking employees. The notice shall include the
following information:
   (1) How to get emergency medical treatment, if needed.
   (2) The kinds of events, injuries, and illnesses covered by
workers' compensation.
   (3) The injured employee's right to receive medical care.
   (4) The rights of the employee to select and change the treating
physician pursuant to the provisions of Section 4600.
   (5) The rights of the employee to receive temporary disability
indemnity, permanent disability indemnity, supplemental job
displacement, and death benefits, as appropriate.
   (6) To whom injuries should be reported.
   (7) The existence of time limits for the employer to be notified
of an occupational injury.
   (8) The protections against discrimination provided pursuant to
Section 132a.
   (9) The Internet Web site address and contact information that
employees may use to obtain further information about the workers'
compensation claims process and an injured employee's rights and
obligations, including the location and telephone number of the
nearest information and assistance officer.
   (e) Failure of an employer to provide the notice required by this
section shall automatically permit the employee to be treated by his
or her personal physician with respect to an injury occurring during
that failure.
   (f) The form and content of the notice required to be posted by
this section shall be made available to self-insured employers and
insurers by the administrative director. Insurers shall provide this
notice to each of their policyholders, with advice concerning the
requirements of this section and the penalties for a failure to post
this notice.



3551.  (a) Every employer subject to the compensation provisions of
this code, except employers of employees defined in subdivision (d)
of Section 3351, shall give every new employee, either at the time
the employee is hired or by the end of the first pay period, written
notice of the information contained in Section 3550. The content of
the notice required by this section shall be prescribed by the
administrative director after consultation with the Commission on
Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation.
   (b) The notice required by this section shall be easily
understandable and available in both English and Spanish. In addition
to the information contained in Section 3550, the content of the
notice required by this section shall include:
   (1) Generally, how to obtain appropriate medical care for a job
injury.
   (2) The role and function of the primary treating physician.
   (3) A form that the employee may use as an optional method for
notifying the employer of the name of the employee's "personal
physician," as defined by Section 4600, or "personal chiropractor,"
as defined by Section 4601.
   (c) The content of the notice required by this section shall be
made available to employers and insurers by the administrative
director. Insurers shall provide this notice to each of their
policyholders, with advice concerning the requirements of this
section and the penalties for a failure to provide this notice to all
employees.



3553.  Every employer subject to the compensation provisions of this
code shall give any employee who is a victim of a crime that
occurred at the employee's place of employment written notice that
the employee is eligible for workers' compensation for injuries,
including psychiatric injuries, that may have resulted from the place
of employment crime. The employer shall provide this notice, either
personally or by first-class mail, within one working day of the
place of employment crime, or within one working day of the date the
employer reasonably should have known of the crime.

back to top

3600.  (a) Liability for the compensation provided by this division,
in lieu of any other liability whatsoever to any person except as
otherwise specifically provided in Sections 3602, 3706, and 4558,
shall, without regard to negligence, exist against an employer for
any injury sustained by his or her employees arising out of and in
the course of the employment and for the death of any employee if the
injury proximately causes death, in those cases where the following
conditions of compensation concur:
   (1) Where, at the time of the injury, both the employer and the
employee are subject to the compensation provisions of this division.
   (2) Where, at the time of the injury, the employee is performing
service growing out of and incidental to his or her employment and is
acting within the course of his or her employment.
   (3) Where the injury is proximately caused by the employment,
either with or without negligence.
   (4) Where the injury is not caused by the intoxication, by alcohol
or the unlawful use of a controlled substance, of the injured
employee. As used in this paragraph, "controlled substance" shall
have the same meaning as prescribed in Section 11007 of the Health
and Safety Code.
   (5) Where the injury is not intentionally self-inflicted.
   (6) Where the employee has not willfully and deliberately caused
his or her own death.
   (7) Where the injury does not arise out of an altercation in which
the injured employee is the initial physical aggressor.
   (8) Where the injury is not caused by the commission of a felony,
or a crime which is punishable as specified in subdivision (b) of
Section 17 of the Penal Code, by the injured employee, for which he
or she has been convicted.
   (9) Where the injury does not arise out of voluntary participation
in any off-duty recreational, social, or athletic activity not
constituting part of the employee's work-related duties, except where
these activities are a reasonable expectancy of, or are expressly or
impliedly required by, the employment. The administrative director
shall promulgate reasonable rules and regulations requiring employers
to post and keep posted in a conspicuous place or places a notice
advising employees of the provisions of this subdivision. Failure of
the employer to post the notice shall not constitute an expression of
intent to waive the provisions of this subdivision.
   (10) Except for psychiatric injuries governed by subdivision (e)
of Section 3208.3, where the claim for compensation is filed after
notice of termination or layoff, including voluntary layoff, and the
claim is for an injury occurring prior to the time of notice of
termination or layoff, no compensation shall be paid unless the
employee demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that one or
more of the following conditions apply:
   (A) The employer has notice of the injury, as provided under
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 5400), prior to the notice of
termination or layoff.
   (B) The employee's medical records, existing prior to the notice
of termination or layoff, contain evidence of the injury.
   (C) The date of injury, as specified in Section 5411, is
subsequent to the date of the notice of termination or layoff, but
prior to the effective date of the termination or layoff.
   (D) The date of injury, as specified in Section 5412, is
subsequent to the date of the notice of termination or layoff.
   For purposes of this paragraph, an employee provided notice
pursuant to Sections 44948.5, 44949, 44951, 44955, 72411, 87740, and
87743 of the Education Code shall be considered to have been provided
a notice of termination or layoff only upon a district's final
decision not to reemploy that person.
   A notice of termination or layoff that is not followed within 60
days by that termination or layoff shall not be subject to the
provisions of this paragraph, and this paragraph shall not apply
until receipt of a later notice of termination or layoff. The
issuance of frequent notices of termination or layoff to an employee
shall be considered a bad faith personnel action and shall make this
paragraph inapplicable to the employee.
   (b) Where an employee, or his or her dependents, receives the
compensation provided by this division and secures a judgment for, or
settlement of, civil damages pursuant to those specific exemptions
to the employee's exclusive remedy set forth in subdivision (b) of
Section 3602 and Section 4558, the compensation paid under this
division shall be credited against the judgment or settlement, and
the employer shall be relieved from the obligation to pay further
compensation to, or on behalf of, the employee or his or her
dependents up to the net amount of the judgment or settlement
received by the employee or his or her heirs, or that portion of the
judgment as has been satisfied.
   (c) For purposes of determining whether to grant or deny a workers'
compensation claim, if an employee is injured or killed by a third
party in the course of the employee's employment, no personal
relationship or personal connection shall be deemed to exist between
the employee and the third party based only on a determination that
the third party injured or killed the employee solely because of the
third party's personal beliefs relating to his or her perception of
the employee's race, religious creed, color, national origin, age,
disability, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or
sexual orientation.



3600.1.  (a) Whenever any firefighter of the state, as defined in
Section 19886 of the Government Code, is injured, dies, or is
disabled from performing his or her duties as a firefighter by reason
of his or her proceeding to or engaging in a fire-suppression or
rescue operation, or the protection or preservation of life or
property, anywhere in this state, including the jurisdiction in which
he or she is employed, but is not at the time acting under the
immediate direction of his or her employer, he or she or his or her
dependents, as the case may be, shall be accorded by his or her
employer all of the same benefits of this division that he, she, or
they would have received had that firefighter been acting under the
immediate direction of his or her employer. Any injury, disability,
or death incurred under the circumstances described in this section
shall be deemed to have arisen out of, and been sustained in, the
course of employment for purposes of workers' compensation and all
other benefits.
   (b) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to do either of the
following:
   (1) Require the extension of any benefits to a firefighter who, at
the time of his or her injury, death, or disability, is acting for
compensation from one other than the state.
   (2) Require the extension of any benefits to a firefighter
employed by the state where by departmental regulation, whether now
in force or hereafter enacted or promulgated, the activity giving
rise to the injury, disability, or death is expressly prohibited.
   (c) If the provisions of this section are in conflict with the
provisions of a memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to
Section 3517.5 of the Government Code, the memorandum of
understanding shall be controlling without further legislative
action, except that if the provisions of a memorandum of
understanding require the expenditure of funds, the provisions shall
not become effective unless approved by the Legislature in the annual
Budget Act.


3600.2.  (a) Whenever any peace officer, as defined in Section 50920
of the Government Code, is injured, dies, or is disabled from
performing his duties as a peace officer by reason of engaging in the
apprehension or attempted apprehension of law violators or suspected
law violators, or protection or preservation of life or property, or
the preservation of the peace anywhere in this state, including the
local jurisdiction in which he is employed, but is not at the time
acting under the immediate direction of his employer, he or his
dependents, as the case may be, shall be accorded by his employer all
of the same benefits, including the benefits of this division, which
he or they would have received had that peace officer been acting
under the immediate direction of his employer. Any injury,
disability, or death incurred under the circumstances described in
this section shall be deemed to have arisen out of and been sustained
in the course of employment for purposes of workers' compensation
and all other benefits.
   (b) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to:
   (1) Require the extension of any benefits to a peace officer who
at the time of his injury, death, or disability is acting for
compensation from one other than the city, county, city and county,
judicial district, or town of his primary employment.
   (2) Require the extension of any benefits to a peace officer
employed by a city, county, city and county, judicial district, or
town which by charter, ordinance, or departmental regulation, whether
now in force or hereafter enacted or promulgated, expressly
prohibits the activity giving rise to the injury, disability, or
death.
   (3) Enlarge or extend the authority of any peace officer to make
an arrest; provided, however, that illegality of the arrest shall not
affect the extension of benefits by reason of this act if the peace
officer reasonably believed that the arrest was not illegal.




3600.3.  (a) For the purposes of Section 3600, an off-duty peace
officer, as defined in subdivision (b), who is performing, within the
jurisdiction of his or her employing agency, a service he or she
would, in the course of his or her employment, have been required to
perform if he or she were on duty, is performing a service growing
out of and incidental to his or her employment and is acting within
the course of his or her employment if, as a condition of his or her
employment, he or she is required to be on call within the
jurisdiction during off-duty hours.
   (b) As used in subdivision (a), "peace officer" means those
employees of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection named as
peace officers for purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 830.37 of
the Penal Code.
   (c) This section does not apply to any off-duty peace officer
while he or she is engaged, either as an employee or as an
independent contractor, in any capacity other than as a peace
officer.



3600.4.  (a) Whenever any firefighter of a city, county, city and
county, district, or other public or municipal corporation or
political subdivision, or any firefighter employed by a private
entity, is injured, dies, or is disabled from performing his or her
duties as a firefighter by reason of his or her proceeding to or
engaging in a fire suppression or rescue operation, or the protection
or preservation of life or property, anywhere in this state,
including the local jurisdiction in which he or she is employed, but
is not at the time acting under the immediate direction of his or her
employer, he or she or his or her dependents, as the case may be,
shall be accorded by his or her employer all of the same benefits of
this division which he or she or they would have received had that
firefighter been acting under the immediate direction of his or her
employer. Any injury, disability, or death incurred under the
circumstances described in this section shall be deemed to have
arisen out of and been sustained in the course of employment for
purposes of workers' compensation and all other benefits.
   (b) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to:
   (1) Require the extension of any benefits to a firefighter who at
the time of his or her injury, death, or disability is acting for
compensation from one other than the city, county, city and county,
district, or other public or municipal corporation or political
subdivision, or private entity, of his or her primary employment or
enrollment.
   (2) Require the extension of any benefits to a firefighter
employed by a city, county, city and county, district, or other
public or municipal corporation or political subdivision, or private
entity, which by charter, ordinance, departmental regulation, or
private employer policy, whether now in force or hereafter enacted or
promulgated, expressly prohibits the activity giving rise to the
injury, disability, or death. However, this paragraph shall not apply
to relieve the employer from liability for benefits for any injury,
disability, or death of a firefighter when the firefighter is acting
pursuant to Section 1799.107 of the Health and Safety Code.




3600.5.  (a) If an employee who has been hired or is regularly
employed in the state receives personal injury by accident arising
out of and in the course of such employment outside of this state,
he, or his dependents, in the case of his death, shall be entitled to
compensation according to the law of this state.
   (b) Any employee who has been hired outside of this state and his
employer shall be exempted from the provisions of this division while
such employee is temporarily within this state doing work for his
employer if such employer has furnished workmen's compensation
insurance coverage under the workmen's compensation insurance or
similar laws of a state other than California, so as to cover such
employee's employment while in this state; provided, the
extraterritorial provisions of this division are recognized in such
other state and provided employers and employees who are covered in
this state are likewise exempted from the application of the workmen'
s compensation insurance or similar laws of such other state. The
benefits under the Workmen's Compensation Insurance Act or similar
laws of such other state, or other remedies under such act or such
laws, shall be the exclusive remedy against such employer for any
injury, whether resulting in death or not, received by such employee
while working for such employer in this state.
   A certificate from the duly authorized officer of the appeals
board or similar department of another state certifying that the
employer of such other state is insured therein and has provided
extraterritorial coverage insuring his employees while working within
this state shall be prima facie evidence that such employer carries
such workmen's compensation insurance.



3600.6.  Disaster service workers registered by a disaster council
while performing services under the general direction of the disaster
council shall be entitled to all of the same benefits of this
division as any other injured employee, except as provided by Chapter
10 (commencing with Section 4351) of Part 1. For purposes of this
section, an unregistered person impressed into performing service as
a disaster service worker during a state of war emergency, a state of
emergency, or a local emergency by a person having authority to
command the aid of citizens in the execution of his or her duties
shall also be deemed a disaster service worker and shall be entitled
to the same benefits of this division as any other disaster service
worker.



3600.8.  (a) No employee who voluntarily participates in an
alternative commute program that is sponsored or mandated by a
governmental entity shall be considered to be acting within the
course of his or her employment while utilizing that program to
travel to or from his or her place of employment, unless he or she is
paid a regular wage or salary in compensation for those periods of
travel. An employee who is injured while acting outside the course of
his or her employment, or his or her dependents in the event of the
employee's death, shall not be barred from bringing an action at law
for damages against his or her employer as a result of this section.
   (b) Any alternative commute program provided, sponsored, or
subsidized by an employee's employer in order to comply with any trip
reduction mandates of an air quality management district or local
government shall be considered a program mandated by a governmental
entity. An employer's reimbursement of employee expenses or
subsidization of costs related to an alternative commute program
shall not be considered payment of a wage or salary in compensation
for the period of travel. If an employer's salary is not based on the
hours the employee works, payment of his or her salary shall not be
considered to be in compensation for the period of travel unless
there is a specific written agreement between the employer and the
employee to that effect. If an employer elects to provide workers'
compensation coverage for those employees who are passengers in a
vehicle owned and operated by the employer or an agent thereof, those
employees shall be considered to be within the course of their
employment, provided the employer notifies employees in writing prior
to participation of the employee or coverage becoming effective.
   (c) As used in this section, "governmental entity" means a
regional air district, air quality management district, congestion
management agency, or other local jurisdiction having authority to
enact air pollution or congestion management controls or impose them
upon entities within its jurisdiction.
   (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, vanpool programs
may continue to provide workers' compensation benefits to employees
who participate in an alternative commute program by riding in a
vanpool, in the case in which the vanpool vehicle is owned or
registered to the employer.
   (e) Employees of the state who participate in an alternative
commute program, while riding in a vanpool vehicle that is registered
to or owned by the state, shall be deemed to be within the course
and scope of employment for workers' compensation purposes only.




3601.  (a) Where the conditions of compensation set forth in Section
3600 concur, the right to recover such compensation, pursuant to the
provisions of this division is, except as specifically provided in
this section, the exclusive remedy for injury or death of an employee
against any other employee of the employer acting within the scope
of his or her employment, except that an employee, or his or her
dependents in the event of his or her death, shall, in addition to
the right to compensation against the employer, have a right to bring
an action at law for damages against the other employee, as if this
division did not apply, in either of the following cases:
   (1) When the injury or death is proximately caused by the willful
and unprovoked physical act of aggression of the other employee.
   (2) When the injury or death is proximately caused by the
intoxication of the other employee.
   (b) In no event, either by legal action or by agreement whether
entered into by the other employee or on his or her behalf, shall the
employer be held liable, directly or indirectly, for damages awarded
against, or for a liability incurred by the other employee under
paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a).
   (c) No employee shall be held liable, directly or indirectly, to
his or her employer, for injury or death of a coemployee except where
the injured employee or his or her dependents obtain a recovery
under subdivision (a).


3602.  (a) Where the conditions of compensation set forth in Section
3600 concur, the right to recover compensation is, except as
specifically provided in this section and Sections 3706 and 4558, the
sole and exclusive remedy of the employee or his or her dependents
against the employer. The fact that either the employee or the
employer also occupied another or dual capacity prior to, or at the
time of, the employee's industrial injury shall not permit the
employee or his or her dependents to bring an action at law for
damages against the employer.
   (b) An employee, or his or her dependents in the event of his or
her death, may bring an action at law for damages against the
employer, as if this division did not apply, in the following
instances:
   (1) Where the employee's injury or death is proximately caused by
a willful physical assault by the employer.
   (2) Where the employee's injury is aggravated by the employer's
fraudulent concealment of the existence of the injury and its
connection with the employment, in which case the employer's
liability shall be limited to those damages proximately caused by the
aggravation. The burden of proof respecting apportionment of damages
between the injury and any subsequent aggravation thereof is upon
the employer.
   (3) Where the employee's injury or death is proximately caused by
a defective product manufactured by the employer and sold, leased, or
otherwise transferred for valuable consideration to an independent
third person, and that product is thereafter provided for the
employee's use by a third person.
   (c) In all cases where the conditions of compensation set forth in
Section 3600 do not concur, the liability of the employer shall be
the same as if this division had not been enacted.
   (d) (1) For the purposes of this division, including Sections 3700
and 3706, an employer may secure the payment of compensation on
employees provided to it by agreement by another employer by entering
into a valid and enforceable agreement with that other employer
under which the other employer agrees to obtain, and has, in fact,
obtained workers' compensation coverage for those employees. In those
cases, both employers shall be considered to have secured the
payment of compensation within the meaning of this section and
Sections 3700 and 3706 if there is a valid and enforceable agreement
between the employers to obtain that coverage, and that coverage, as
specified in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 3700, has been in fact
obtained, and the coverage remains in effect for the duration of the
employment providing legally sufficient coverage to the employee or
employees who form the subject matter of the coverage. That agreement
shall not be made for the purpose of avoiding an employer's
appropriate experience rating as defined in subdivision (c) of
Section 11730 of the Insurance Code.
   (2) Employers who have complied with this subdivision shall not be
subject to civil, criminal, or other penalties for failure to
provide workers' compensation coverage or tort liability in the event
of employee injury, but may, in the absence of compliance, be
subject to all three.
   (e) As provided in paragraph (12) of subdivision (f) of Section
1202.4 of the Penal Code, in cases where an employer is convicted of
a crime against an employee, a payment to the employee or the
employee's dependent that is paid by the employer's workers'
compensation insurance carrier shall not be used to offset the amount
of the restitution order unless the court finds that the defendant
substantially met the obligation to pay premiums for that insurance
coverage.



3603.  Payment of compensation in accordance with the order and
direction of the appeals board shall discharge the employer from all
claims therefor.


3604.  It is not a defense to the State, any county, city, district
or institution thereof, or any public or quasi-public corporation,
that a person injured while rendering service for it was not lawfully
employed by reason of the violation of any civil service or other
law or regulation respecting the hiring of employees.




3605.  The compensation due an injured minor may be paid to him
until his parent or guardian gives the employer or the latter's
compensation insurance carrier written notice that he claims such
compensation.
   Compensation paid to such injured minor prior to receipt of such
written notice is in full release of the employer and insurance
carrier for the amount so paid. The minor can not disaffirm such
payment upon appointment of a guardian or coming of age.

back to top

3700.  Every employer except the state shall secure the payment of
compensation in one or more of the following ways:
   (a) By being insured against liability to pay compensation by one
or more insurers duly authorized to write compensation insurance in
this state.
   (b) By securing from the Director of Industrial Relations a
certificate of consent to self-insure either as an individual
employer, or as one employer in a group of employers, which may be
given upon furnishing proof satisfactory to the Director of
Industrial Relations of ability to self-insure and to pay any
compensation that may become due to his or her employees.
   (c) For any county, city, city and county, municipal corporation,
public district, public agency, or any political subdivision of the
state, including each member of a pooling arrangement under a joint
exercise of powers agreement (but not the state itself), by securing
from the Director of Industrial Relations a certificate of consent to
self-insure against workers' compensation claims, which certificate
may be given upon furnishing proof satisfactory to the director of
ability to administer workers' compensation claims properly, and to
pay workers' compensation claims that may become due to its
employees. On or before March 31, 1979, a political subdivision of
the state which, on December 31, 1978, was uninsured for its
liability to pay compensation, shall file a properly completed and
executed application for a certificate of consent to self-insure
against workers' compensation claims. The certificate shall be issued
and be subject to the provisions of Section 3702.
   For purposes of this section, "state" shall include the superior
courts of California.



3700.1.  As used in this article:
   (a) "Director" means the Director of Industrial Relations.
   (b) "Private self-insurer" means a private employer which has
secured the payment of compensation pursuant to Section 3701.
   (c) "Trustees" means the Board of Trustees of the Self-Insurers'
Security Fund.
   (d) "Member" means a private self-insurer which participates in
the Self-Insurers' Security Fund.
   (e) "Incurred liabilities for the payment of compensation" means
the sum of an estimate of future compensation, as compensation is
defined by Section 3207, plus an estimate of the amount necessary to
provide for the administration of claims, including legal costs.



3700.5.  (a) The failure to secure the payment of compensation as
required by this article by one who knew, or because of his or her
knowledge or experience should be reasonably expected to have known,
of the obligation to secure the payment of compensation, is a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to
one year, or by a fine of up to double the amount of premium, as
determined by the court, that would otherwise have been due to secure
the payment of compensation during the time compensation was not
secured, but not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both
that imprisonment and fine.
   (b) A second or subsequent conviction shall be punished by
imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed one year,
by a fine of triple the amount of premium, or by both that
imprisonment and fine, as determined by the court, that would
otherwise have been due to secure the payment of compensation during
the time payment was not secured, but not less than fifty thousand
dollars ($50,000).
   (c) Upon a first conviction of a person under this section, the
person may be charged the costs of investigation at the discretion of
the court. Upon a subsequent conviction, the person shall be charged
the costs of investigation in addition to any other penalties
pursuant to subdivision (b). The costs of investigation shall be paid
only after the payment of any benefits that may be owed to injured
workers, any reimbursement that may be owed to the director for
benefits provided to the injured worker pursuant to Section 3717, and
any other penalty assessments that may be owed.



3701.  (a) Each year every private self-insuring employer shall
secure incurred liabilities for the payment of compensation and the
performance of the obligations of employers imposed under this
chapter by renewing the prior year's security deposit or by making a
new deposit of security. If a new deposit is made, it shall be posted
within 60 days of the filing of the self-insured employer's annual
report with the director, but in no event later than May 1.
   (b) The solvency risk and security deposit amount for each private
and group self-insurer shall be acceptable to the Self-Insurers'
Security Fund.
   (c) Unless otherwise permitted by regulation, the deposit shall be
an amount equal to the self-insurer's projected losses, net of
specific excess insurance coverage, if any, and inclusive of incurred
but not reported (IBNR) liabilities, allocated loss adjustment
expense, and unallocated loss adjustment expense, calculated as of
December 31 of each year. The calculation of projected losses and
expenses shall be reflected in a written actuarial report that
projects ultimate liabilities of the private self-insured employer at
the expected actuarial confidence level, to ensure that all claims
and associated costs are recognized. The written actuarial report
shall be prepared by an actuary meeting the qualifications prescribed
by the director in regulation.
   (d) In determining the amount of the deposit required to secure
incurred liabilities for the payment of compensation and the
performance of obligations of a self-insured employer imposed under
this chapter, the director shall offset estimated future liabilities
for the same claims covered by a self-insured plan under the federal
Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 901 et
seq.), but in no event shall the offset exceed the estimated future
liabilities for the claims under this chapter.
   (e) The director may only accept as security, and the employer
shall deposit as security, cash, securities, surety bonds, or
irrevocable letters of credit in any combination the director, in his
or her discretion, deems adequate security. The current deposit
shall include any amounts covered by terminated surety bonds or
excess insurance policies, as shall be set forth in regulations
adopted by the director pursuant to Section 3702.10.
   (f) Surety bonds, irrevocable letters of credit, and documents
showing issuance of any irrevocable letter of credit shall be
deposited with, and be in a form approved by, the director, shall be
exonerated only according to its terms and, in no event, by the
posting of additional security.
   (g) The director may accept as security a joint security deposit
that secures an employer's obligation under this chapter and that
also secures that employer's obligations under the federal Longshore
and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.
   (h) The liability of the Self-Insurers' Security Fund, with
respect to any claims brought under both this chapter and under the
federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, to pay for
shortfalls in a security deposit shall be limited to the amount of
claim liability owing the employee under this chapter offset by the
amount of any claim liability owing under the federal Longshore and
Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, but in no event shall the liability
of the fund exceed the claim liability under this chapter. The
employee shall be entitled to pursue recovery under either or both
the state and federal programs.
   (i) Securities shall be deposited on behalf of the director by the
self-insured employer with the Treasurer. Securities shall be
accepted by the Treasurer for deposit and shall be withdrawn only
upon written order of the director.
   (j) Cash shall be deposited in a financial institution approved by
the director, and in the account assigned to the director. Cash
shall be withdrawn only upon written order of the director.
   (k) Upon the sending by the director of a request to renew,
request to post, or request to increase or decrease a security
deposit, a perfected security interest is created in the private
self-insured's assets in favor of the director and the Self-Insurers'
Security Fund to the extent of any then unsecured portion of the
self-insured's incurred liabilities. That perfected security interest
is transferred to any cash or securities thereafter posted by the
private self-insured with the director and is released only upon
either of the following:
   (1) The acceptance by the director of a surety bond or irrevocable
letter of credit for the full amount of the incurred liabilities for
the payment of compensation.
   (2) The return of cash or securities by the director.
   The private self-insured employer loses all right, title, and
interest in, and any right to control, all assets or obligations
posted or left on deposit as security. The director may liquidate the
deposit as provided in Section 3701.5 and apply it to the
self-insured employer's incurred liabilities either directly or
through the Self-Insurers' Security Fund.



3701.3.  The director shall return to a private self-insured
employer all individual security determined, with the consent of the
Self-Insurers' Security Fund, to be in excess of that needed to
ensure the administration of the employer's self insuring, including
legal fees, and the payment of any future claims. This section shall
not apply to any security posted as part of the composite deposit, or
to any security turned over to the Self-Insurers' Security Fund
following an order of default under Section 3701.5.



3701.5.  (a) If the director determines that a private self-insured
employer has failed to pay workers' compensation as required by this
division, the security deposit shall be utilized to administer and
pay the employer's compensation obligations.
   (b) If the director determines the security deposit has not been
immediately made available for the payment of compensation, the
director shall determine the method of payment and claims
administration as appropriate, which may include, but is not limited
to, payment by a surety that issued the bond, or payment by an issuer
of an irrevocable letter of credit, and administration by a surety
or by an adjusting agency, or through the Self-Insurers' Security
Fund, or any combination thereof. If the director arranges for
administration and payment by any person other than the Self-Insurers'
Security Fund after a default is declared, the fund shall have no
responsibility for claims administration or payment of the claims.
   (c) If the director determines the payment of benefits and claims
administration shall be made through the Self-Insurers' Security
Fund, the fund shall commence payment of the private self-insured
employer's obligations for which it is liable under Section 3743
within 30 days of notification. Payments shall be made to claimants
whose entitlement to benefits can be ascertained by the fund, with or
without proceedings before the appeals board. Upon the assumption of
obligations by the fund pursuant to the director's determination,
the fund shall have a right to immediate possession of any posted
security and the custodian, surety, or issuer of any irrevocable
letter of credit shall turn over the security to the fund together
with the interest that has accrued since the date of the self-insured
employer's default or insolvency.
   (d) The payment of benefits by the Self-Insurers' Security Fund
from security deposit proceeds shall release and discharge any
custodian of the security deposit, surety, any issuer of a letter of
credit, and the self-insured employer, from liability to fulfill
obligations to provide those same benefits as compensation, but does
not release any person from any liability to the fund for full
reimbursement. Payment by a surety constitutes a full release of the
surety's liability under the bond to the extent of that payment, and
entitles the surety to full reimbursement by the principal or his or
her estate. Full reimbursement includes necessary attorney fees and
other costs and expenses, without prior claim or proceedings on the
part of the injured employee or other beneficiaries. Any decision or
determination made, or any settlement approved, by the director or by
the appeals board under subdivision (f) shall conclusively be
presumed valid and binding as to any and all known claims arising out
of the underlying dispute, unless an appeal is made within the time
limit specified in Section 5950.
   (e) The director shall advise the Self-Insurers' Security Fund
promptly after receipt of information indicating that a private
self-insured employer may be unable to meet its compensation
obligations. The director shall also advise the Self-Insurers'
Security Fund of all determinations and directives made or issued
pursuant to this section. All financial, actuarial, or claims
information received by the director from any self-insurer may be
shared by the director with the Self-Insurers' Security Fund.
   (f) Disputes concerning the posting, renewal, termination,
exoneration, or return of all or any portion of the security deposit,
or any liability arising out of the posting or failure to post
security, or adequacy of the security or reasonableness of
administrative costs, including legal fees, and arising between or
among a surety, the issuer of an agreement of assumption and
guarantee of workers' compensation liabilities, the issuer of a
letter of credit, any custodian of the security deposit, a
self-insured employer, or the Self-Insurers' Security Fund shall be
resolved by the director. An appeal from the director's decision or
determination may be taken to the appropriate superior court by
petition for writ of mandate. Payment of claims from the security
deposit or by the Self-Insurers' Security Fund shall not be stayed
pending the resolution of the disputes unless and until the superior
court issues a determination staying a payment of claims decision or
determination of the director.



3701.7.  Where any employer requesting coverage under a new or
existing certificate of consent to self-insure has had a period of
unlawful uninsurance, either for an applicant in its entirety or for
a subsidiary or member of a joint powers authority legally
responsible for its own workers' compensation obligations, the
following special conditions shall apply before the director may
determine if the requesting employer can operate under a certificate
of consent to self-insure:
   (a) The director may require a deposit of not less than 200
percent of the outstanding liabilities remaining unpaid at the time
of application, which had been incurred during the uninsurance
period.
   (b) At the discretion of the director, where a public or private
employer has been previously totally uninsured for workers'
compensation pursuant to Section 3700, the director may require an
additional deposit not to exceed 100 percent of the total outstanding
liabilities for the uninsured period, or the sum of two hundred
fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), whichever is greater.
   (c) In addition to the deposits required by subdivisions (a) and
(b), a penalty shall be paid to the Uninsured Employers Fund of 10
percent per year of the remaining unpaid liabilities, for every year
liabilities remain outstanding. In addition, an additional
application fee, not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), plus
assessments, pursuant to Section 3702.5 and subdivision (b) of
Section 3745, may be imposed by the director and the Self-Insurers'
Security Fund, respectively, against private self-insured employers.
   (d) A certificate of consent to self-insure shall not be granted
to an applicant that has had a period of unlawful uninsurance without
the written approval of the Self-Insurers' Security Fund.
   (e) An employer may retrospectively insure the outstanding
liabilities arising out of the uninsured period, either before or
after an application for self-insurance has been approved. Upon proof
of insurance acceptable to the director, no deposit shall be
required for the period of uninsurance.
   The penalties to be paid to the Uninsured Employers Fund shall
consist of a one-time payment of 20 percent of the outstanding
liabilities for the period of uninsurance remaining unpaid at the
time of application, in lieu of any other penalty for being
unlawfully uninsured pursuant to this code.
   (f) In the case of a subsidiary which meets all of the following
conditions, a certificate shall issue without penalty:
   (1) The subsidiary has never had a certificate revoked for reasons
set forth in Section 3702.
   (2) Employee injuries were reported to the Office of
Self-Insurance Plans in annual reports.
   (3) The security deposit of the certificate holder was calculated
to include the entity's compensation liabilities.
   (4) Application for a separate certificate or corrected
certificate is made within 90 days and completed within 180 days of
notice from the Office of Self-Insurance Plans. If the requirements
of this subdivision are not met, all penalties pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 3702.9 shall apply.
   (g) The director may approve an application on the date the
application is substantially completed, subject to completion
requirements, and may make the certificate effective on an earlier
date, covering a period of uninsurance, if the employer complies with
the requirements of this section.
   (h) Any decision by the director may be contested by an entity in
the manner provided in Section 3701.5.
   (i) Nothing in this section shall abrogate the right of an
employee to bring an action against an uninsured employer pursuant to
Section 3706.
   (j) Nothing in this statute shall abrogate the right of a
self-insured employer to insure against known or unknown claims
arising out of the self-insurance period.



3701.8.  (a) As an alternative to each private self-insuring
employer securing its own incurred liabilities as provided in Section
3701, the director may provide by regulation for an alternative
security system whereby all private self-insureds designated for full
participation by the director shall collectively secure their
aggregate incurred liabilities through the Self-Insurers' Security
Fund. The regulations shall provide for the director to set a total
security requirement for these participating self-insured employers
based on a review of their annual reports and any other self-insurer
information as may be specified by the director. The Self-Insurers'
Security Fund shall propose to the director a combination of cash and
securities, surety bonds, irrevocable letters of credit, insurance,
or other financial instruments or guarantees satisfactory to the
director sufficient to meet the security requirement set by the
director. Upon approval by the director and posting by the
Self-Insurers' Security Fund on or before the date set by the
director, that combination shall be the composite deposit. The
noncash elements of the composite deposit may be one-year or
multiple-year instruments. If the Self-Insurers' Security Fund fails
to post the required composite deposit by the date set by the
director, then within 30 days after that date, each private
self-insuring employer shall secure its incurred liabilities in the
manner required by Section 3701. Self-insured employers not
designated for full participation by the director shall meet all
requirements as may be set by the director pursuant to subdivision
(g).
   (b) In order to provide for the composite deposit approved by the
director, the Self-Insurers' Security Fund shall assess, in a manner
approved by the director, each fully participating private
self-insuring employer a deposit assessment payable within 30 days of
assessment. The amount of the deposit assessment charged each fully
participating self-insured employer shall be set by the Self-Insurers'
Security Fund, based on its reasonable consideration of all the
following factors:
   (1) The total amount needed to provide the composite deposit.
   (2) The self-insuring employer's paid or incurred liabilities as
reflected in its annual report.
   (3) The financial strength and creditworthiness of the
self-insured.
   (4) Any other reasonable factors as may be authorized by
regulation.
   (5) In order to make a composite deposit proposal to the director
and set the deposit assessment to be charged each fully participating
self-insured, the Self-Insurers' Security Fund shall have access to
the annual reports and other information submitted by all
self-insuring employers to the director, under terms and conditions
as may be set by the director, to preserve the confidentiality of the
self-insured's financial information.
   (c) Upon payment of the deposit assessment and except as provided
herein, the self-insuring employer loses all right, title, and
interest in the deposit assessment. To the extent that in any one
year the deposit assessment paid by self-insurers is not exhausted in
the purchase of securities, surety bonds, irrevocable letters of
credit, insurance, or other financial instruments to post with the
director as part of the composite deposit, the surplus shall remain
posted with the director, and the principal and interest earned on
that surplus shall remain as part of the composite deposit in
subsequent years. In the event that in any one year the Self-Insurers'
Security Fund fails to post the required composite deposit by the
date set the by the director, and the director requires each private
self-insuring employer to secure its incurred liabilities in the
manner required by Section 3701, then any deposit assessment paid in
that year shall be refunded to the self-insuring employer that paid
the deposit assessment.
   (d) If any private self-insuring employer objects to the
calculation, posting, or any other aspect of its deposit assessment,
upon payment of the assessment in the time provided, the employer
shall have the right to appeal the assessment to the director, who
shall have exclusive jurisdiction over this dispute. If any private
self-insuring employer fails to pay the deposit assessment in the
time provided, the director shall order the self-insuring employer to
pay a penalty of not less than 10 percent of its deposit assessment,
plus interest on any unpaid amount at the prejudgment rate, and to
post a separate security deposit in the manner provided by Section
3701. The penalty and interest shall be paid directly to the
Self-Insurers' Security Fund. The director may also revoke the
certificate of consent to self-insure of any self-insuring employer
who fails to pay the deposit assessment in the time provided.
   (e) Upon the posting by the Self-Insurers' Security Fund of the
composite deposit with the director, the deposit shall be held until
the director determines that a private self-insured employer has
failed to pay workers' compensation as required by this division, and
the director orders the Self-Insurers' Security Fund to commence
payment. Upon ordering the Self-Insurers' Security Fund to commence
payment, the director shall make available to the fund that portion
of the composite deposit necessary to pay the workers' compensation
benefits of the defaulting self-insuring employer. In the event
additional funds are needed in subsequent years to pay the workers'
compensation benefits of any self-insuring employer who defaulted in
earlier years, the director shall make available to the Self-Insurers'
Security Fund any portions of the composite deposit as may be needed
to pay those benefits. In making the deposit available to the
Self-Insurers' Security Fund, the director shall also allow any
amounts as may be reasonably necessary to pay for the administrative
and other activities of the fund.
   (f) The cash portion of the composite deposit shall be segregated
from all other funds held by the director, and shall be invested by
the director for the sole benefit of the Self-Insurers' Security Fund
and the injured workers of private self-insured employers, and may
not be used for any other purpose by the state. Alternatively, the
director, in his discretion, may allow the Self-Insurers' Security
Fund to hold, invest, and draw upon the cash portion of the composite
deposit as prescribed by regulation.
   (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
director shall, by regulation, set minimum credit, financial, or
other conditions that a private self-insured must meet in order to be
a fully participating self-insurer in the alternative security
system. In the event any private self-insuring employer is unable to
meet the conditions set by the director, or upon application of the
Self-Insurers' Security Fund to exclude an employer for credit or
financial reasons, the director shall exclude the self-insuring
employer from full participation in the alternative security system.
In the event a self-insuring employer is excluded from full
participation, the nonfully participating private self-insuring
employer shall post a separate security deposit in the manner
provided by Section 3701 and pay a deposit assessment set by the
director. Alternatively, the director may order that the nonfully
participating private self-insuring employer post a separate security
deposit to secure a portion of its incurred liabilities and pay a
deposit assessment set by the director.
   (h) An employer who self-insures through group self-insurance and
an employer whose certificate to self-insure has been revoked may
fully participate in the alternative security system if both the
director and the Self-Insurers' Security Fund approve the
participation of the self-insurer. If not approved for full
participation, or if an employer is issued a certificate to
self-insure after the composite deposit is posted, the employer shall
satisfy the requirements of subdivision (g) for nonfully
participating private self-insurers.
   (i) At all times, a self-insured employer shall have secured its
incurred workers' compensation liabilities either in the manner
required by Section 3701 or through the alternative security system,
and there shall not be any lapse in the security.



3701.9.  (a) A certificate of consent to self-insure shall not be
issued after January 1, 2013, to any of the following:
   (1) A professional employer organization.
   (2) A leasing employer, as defined in Section 606.5 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code.
   (3) A temporary services employer, as defined in Section 606.5 of
the Unemployment Insurance Code.
   (4) Any employer, regardless of name or form of organization,
which the director determines to be in the business of providing
employees to other employers.
   (b) A certificate of consent to self-insure that has been issued
to any employer described in subdivision (a) shall be revoked by the
director not later than January 1, 2015.



3702.  (a) A certificate of consent to self-insure may be revoked by
the director at any time for good cause after a hearing. Good cause
includes, among other things, a recommendation by the Self-Insurers'
Security Fund to revoke the certificate of consent, the impairment of
the solvency of the employer to the extent that there is a marked
reduction of the employer's financial strength, failure to maintain a
security deposit as required by Section 3701, failure to pay
assessments of the Self-Insurers' Security Fund, frequent or flagrant
violations of state safety and health orders, the failure or
inability of the employer to fulfill his or her obligations, or any
of the following practices by the employer or his or her agent in
charge of the administration of obligations under this division:
   (1) Habitually and as a matter of practice and custom inducing
claimants for compensation to accept less than the compensation due
or making it necessary for them to resort to proceedings against the
employer to secure compensation due.
   (2) Where liability for temporary disability indemnity is not in
dispute, intentionally failing to pay temporary disability indemnity
without good cause in order to influence the amount of permanent
disability benefits due.
   (3) Intentionally refusing to comply with known and legally
indisputable compensation obligations.
   (4) Discharging or administering his or her compensation
obligations in a dishonest manner.
   (5) Discharging or administering his or her compensation
obligations in such a manner as to cause injury to the public or
those dealing with the employer.
   (b) Where revocation is in part based upon the director's finding
of a marked reduction of the employer's financial strength or the
failure or inability of the employer to fulfill his or her
obligations, or a practice of discharging obligations in a dishonest
manner, it is a condition precedent to the employer's challenge or
appeal of the revocation that the employer have in effect insurance
against liability to pay compensation.
   (c) The director may hold a hearing to determine whether good
cause exists to revoke an employer's certificate of consent to
self-insure if the employer is cited for a willful, or repeat serious
violation of the standard adopted pursuant to Section 6401.7 and the
citation has become final.



3702.1.  (a) No person, firm, or corporation, other than an insurer
admitted to transact workers' compensation insurance in this state,
shall contract to administer claims of self-insured employers as a
third-party administrator unless in possession of a certificate of
consent to administer self-insured employers' workers' compensation
claims.
   (b) As a condition of receiving a certificate of consent, all
persons given discretion by a third-party administrator to deny,
accept, or negotiate a workers' compensation claim shall demonstrate
their competency to the director by written examination, or other
methods approved by the director.
   (c) A separate certificate shall be required for each adjusting
location operated by a third-party administrator. A third-party
administrator holding a certificate of consent shall be subject to
regulation only under this division with respect to the adjustment,
administration, and management of workers' compensation claims for
any self-insured employer.
   (d) A third-party administrator retained by a self-insured
employer to administer the employer's workers' compensation claims
shall estimate the total accrued liability of the employer for the
payment of compensation for the employer's annual report to the
director and shall make the estimate both in good faith and with the
exercise of a reasonable degree of care. The use of a third-party
administrator shall not, however, discharge or alter the employer's
responsibilities with respect to the report.



3702.2.  (a) All self-insured employers shall file a self-insurer's
annual report in a form prescribed by the director. Public
self-insured employers shall provide detailed information as the
director determines necessary to evaluate the costs of
administration, workers' compensation benefit expenditures, and
solvency and performance of the public self-insured employer workers'
compensation programs, on a schedule established by the director.
The director may grant deferrals to public self-insured employers
that are not yet capable of accurately reporting the information
required, giving priority to bringing larger programs into compliance
with the more detailed reporting.
   (b) To enable the director to determine the amount of the security
deposit required by subdivision (c) of Section 3701, the annual
report of a self-insured employer who has self-insured both state and
federal workers' compensation liability shall also set forth (1) the
amount of all compensation liability incurred, paid-to-date, and
estimated future liability under both this chapter and under the
federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C.
Sec. 901 et seq.), and (2) the identity and the amount of the
security deposit securing the employer's liability under state and
federal self-insured programs.
   (c) The director shall annually prepare an aggregated summary of
all self-insured employer liability to pay compensation reported on
the self-insurers' employers annual reports, including a separate
summary for public and private employer self-insurers. The summaries
shall be in the same format as the individual self-insured employers
are required to report that liability on the employer self-insurer's
annual report forms prescribed by the director. The aggregated
summaries shall be made available to the public on the self-insurance
section of the department's Internet Web site. Nothing in this
subdivision shall authorize the director to release or make available
information that is aggregated by industry or business type, that
identifies individual self-insured filers, or that includes any
individually identifiable claimant information.
   (d) The director may release a copy, or make available an
electronic version, of the data contained in any public sector
employer self-insurer's annual reports received from an individual
public entity self-insurer or from a joint powers authority employer
and its membership. However, the release of any annual report
information by the director shall not include any portion of any
listing of open indemnity claims that contains individually
identifiable claimant information, or any portion of excess insurance
coverage information that contains any individually identifiable
claimant information.



3702.3.  Failure to submit reports or information as deemed
necessary by the director to implement the purposes of Section 3701,
3702, or 3702.2 may result in the assessment of a civil penalty as
set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 3702.9. Moneys collected
shall be used for the administration of self-insurance plans.




3702.4.  (a) The Commission on Health and Safety and Workers'
Compensation shall conduct an examination of the public self-insured
program and publish, on its Internet Web site, a preliminary draft
report and recommendations for improvement of the program no later
than October 1, 2013, and a final report no later than December 31,
2013. The recommendations shall address costs of administration,
workers' compensation benefit expenditures, and solvency and
performance of public self-insured workers' compensation programs, as
well as provisions in the event of insolvencies.
   (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2015, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends
that date.


3702.5.  (a) (1) The cost of administration of the public
self-insured program by the Director of Industrial Relations shall be
borne by the Workers' Compensation Administration Revolving Fund.
   (2) The cost of administration of the private self-insured program
by the Director of Industrial Relations shall be borne by the
private self-insurers through payment of certificate fees which shall
be established by the director in broad ranges based on the
comparative numbers of employees insured by the private self-insurers
and the number of adjusting locations. The director may assess other
fees as necessary to cover the costs of special audits or services
rendered to private self-insured employers. The director may assess a
civil penalty for late filing as set forth in subdivision (a) of
Section 3702.9.
   (b) All revenues from fees and penalties paid by private
self-insured employers shall be deposited into the Self-Insurance
Plans Fund, which is hereby created for the administration of the
private self-insurance program. Any unencumbered balance in
subdivision (a) of Item 8350-001-001 of the Budget Act of 1983 shall
be transferred to the Self-Insurance Plans Fund. The director shall
annually eliminate any unused surplus in the Self-Insurance Plans
Fund by reducing certificate fee assessments by an appropriate amount
in the subsequent year. Moneys paid into the Self-Insurance Plans
Fund for administration of the private self-insured program shall not
be used by any other department or agency or for any purpose other
than administration of the private self-insurance program. Detailed
accountability shall be maintained by the director for any security
deposit or other funds held in trust for the Self-Insurer's Security
Fund in the Self-Insurance Plans Fund.
   Moneys held by the director shall be invested in the Surplus Money
Investment Fund. Interest shall be paid on all moneys transferred to
the General Fund in accordance with Section 16310 of the Government
Code. The Treasurer's and Controller's administrative costs may be
charged to the interest earnings upon approval of the director.



3702.6.  (a) The director shall establish an audit program
addressing the adequacy of estimates of future liability of claims
for all private self-insured employers, and shall ensure that all
private self-insured employers are audited within a three-year cycle
by the Office of Self Insurance Plans.
   (b) Each public self-insurer shall advise its governing board
within 90 days after submission of the self-insurer's annual report
of the total liabilities reported and whether current funding of
those workers' compensation liabilities is in compliance with the
requirements of Government Accounting Standards Board Publication No.
10.
   (c) The director shall, upon a showing of good cause, order a
special audit of any public self-insured employer to determine the
adequacy of estimates of future liability of claims.
   (d) For purposes of this section, "good cause" means that there
exists circumstances sufficient to raise concerns regarding the
adequacy of estimates of future liability of claims to justify a
special audit.


3702.7.  A certificate of consent to administer claims of
self-insured employers may be revoked by the director at any time for
good cause after a hearing. Good cause includes, but is not limited
to, the violation of subsection (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of
subdivision (a) of Section 3702. In lieu of revocation of a
certificate of consent, the director may impose a fine of not less
than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500)
for each violation.


3702.8.  (a) Employers who have ceased to be self-insured employers
shall discharge their continuing obligations to secure the payment of
workers' compensation that accrued during the period of
self-insurance, for purposes of Sections 3700, 3700.5, 3706, and
3715, and shall comply with all of the following obligations of
current certificate holders:
   (1) Filing annual reports as deemed necessary by the director to
carry out the requirements of this chapter.
   (2) In the case of a private employer, depositing and maintaining
a security deposit for accrued liability for the payment of any
workers' compensation that may become due, pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 3700 and Section 3701, except as provided in
subdivision (c).
   (3) Paying within 30 days all assessments of which notice is sent,
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 3745, within 36 months from
the last day the employer's certificate of self-insurance was in
effect. Assessments shall be based on the benefits paid by the
employer during the last full calendar year of self-insurance on
claims incurred during that year.
   (b) In addition to proceedings to establish liabilities and
penalties otherwise provided, a failure to comply may be the subject
of a proceeding before the director. An appeal from the director's
determination shall be taken to the appropriate superior court by
petition for writ of mandate.
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), any employer who is currently
self-insured or who has ceased to be self-insured may purchase a
special excess workers' compensation policy to discharge any or all
of the employer's continuing obligations as a self-insurer to pay
compensation or to secure the payment of compensation.
   (1) The special excess workers' compensation insurance policy
shall be issued by an insurer authorized to transact workers'
compensation insurance in this state.
   (2) Each carrier's special excess workers' compensation policy
shall be approved as to form and substance by the Insurance
Commissioner, and rates for special excess workers' compensation
insurance shall be subject to the filing requirements set forth in
Section 11735 of the Insurance Code.
   (3) Each special excess workers' compensation insurance policy
shall be submitted by the employer to the director. The director
shall adopt and publish minimum insurer financial rating standards
for companies issuing special excess workers' compensation policies.
   (4) Upon acceptance by the director, a special excess workers'
compensation policy shall provide coverage for all or any portion of
the purchasing employer's claims for compensation arising out of
injuries occurring during the period the employer was self-insured in
accordance with Sections 3755, 3756, and 3757 of the Labor Code and
Sections 11651 and 11654 of the Insurance Code. The director's
acceptance shall discharge the Self-Insurer's Security Fund, without
recourse or liability to the Self-Insurer's Security Fund, of any
continuing liability for the claims covered by the special excess
workers' compensation insurance policy.
   (5) For public employers, no security deposit or financial
guarantee bond or other security shall be required. The director
shall set minimum financial rating standards for insurers issuing
special excess workers' compensation policies for public employers.
   (d) (1) In order for the special excess workers' compensation
insurance policy to discharge the full obligations of a private
employer to maintain a security deposit with the director for the
payment of self-insured claims, applicable to the period to be
covered by the policy, the special excess policy shall provide
coverage for all claims for compensation arising out of that
liability. The employer shall maintain the required deposit for the
period covered by the policy with the director for a period of three
years after the issuance date of the special excess policy.
   (2) If the special workers' compensation insurance policy does not
provide coverage for all of the continuing obligations for which the
private self-insured employer is liable, to the extent the employer'
s obligations are not covered by the policy a private employer shall
maintain the required deposit with the director. In addition, the
employer shall maintain with the director the required deposit for
the period covered by the policy for a period of three years after
the issuance date of the special excess policy.
   (e) The director shall adopt regulations pursuant to Section
3702.10 that are reasonably necessary to implement this section in
order to reasonably protect injured workers, employers, the
Self-Insurers' Security Fund, and the California Insurance Guarantee
Association.
   (f) The posting of a special excess workers' compensation
insurance policy with the director shall discharge the obligation of
the Self-Insurer's Security Fund pursuant to Section 3744 to pay
claims in the event of an insolvency of a private employer to the
extent of coverage of compensation liabilities under the special
excess workers' compensation insurance policy. The California
Insurance Guarantee Association and the Self-Insurers' Security Fund
shall be advised by the director whenever a special excess workers'
compensation insurance policy is posted.



3702.9.  (a) In addition to remedies and penalties otherwise
provided for a failure to secure the payment of compensation, the
director may, after a determination that an obligation created in
this article has been violated, also enter an order against any
self-insured employer, including employers who are no longer
self-insured, but who are required to comply with Section 3702.8,
directing compliance, restitution for any losses, and a civil penalty
in an amount not to exceed the following:
   (1) For a failure to file a complete or timely annual report, an
amount up to 5 percent of the incurred liabilities in the last report
or one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), whichever is less,
for each 30 days or portion thereof during which there is a failure.
   (2) For failure to deposit and maintain a security deposit, an
amount up to 10 percent of the increase not timely filed or five
thousand dollars ($5,000), whichever is less, for each 30 days or
portion thereof during which there is a failure.
   (3) For a failure to timely or completely pay an assessment, an
amount up to the assessment or two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500), whichever is less, for each 30 days or portion thereof
during which there is a failure.
   (4) Where the failure was by an employer which knew or reasonably
should have known of the obligation, the director shall, in addition,
award reimbursement for all expenditures and costs by the fund or
any intervening party, including a reasonable attorney fee.
   (5) Where the failure was malicious, fraudulent, in bad faith, or
a repeated violation, the director may award, as an additional civil
penalty, liquidated damages of up to double the amounts assessed
under paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, for deposit in the General
Fund.
   (b) An employer may deposit and maintain a security deposit or pay
an assessment, reserving its right to challenge the amount or
liability therefor at a hearing. If the director or the appeals board
or a court, upon appeal, concludes that the employer is not liable
or the amounts are excessive, then the director may waive, release,
compromise, refund, or otherwise remit amounts which had been paid or
deposited by an employer. The director may condition the waiver,
release, compromise, refund, or remittance upon the present and
continued future compliance with the obligations of subdivision (a)
of Section 3702.8 for a period up to two years.
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), where a violation has
occurred, the director may waive, release, compromise, or otherwise
reduce any civil penalty otherwise due upon a showing that a
violation occurred through the employer's mistake, inadvertence,
surprise, or excusable neglect. Neglect is not excusable within the
meaning of this subdivision where the employer knew, or reasonably
should have known, of the obligations.



3702.10.  The director, in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code, may adopt, amend, and repeal rules and regulations
reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes of Section 129 and
Article 1 (commencing with Section 3700), Article 2 (commencing with
Section 3710), and Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 3740). This
authorization includes, but is not limited to, the adoption of
regulations to do all of the following:
   (a) Specifying what constitutes ability to self-insure and to pay
any compensation which may become due under Section 3700.
   (b) Specifying what constitutes a marked reduction of an employer'
s financial strength.
   (c) Specifying what constitutes a failure or inability to fulfill
the employer's obligations under Section 3702.
   (d) Interpreting and defining the terms used.
   (e) Establishing procedures and standards for hearing and
determinations, and providing for those determinations to be appealed
to the appeals board.
   (f) Specifying the standards, form, and content of agreements,
forms, and reports between parties who have obligations pursuant to
this chapter.
   (g) Providing for the combinations and relative liabilities of
security deposits, assumptions, and guarantees used pursuant to this
chapter.
   (h) Disclosing otherwise confidential financial information
concerning self-insureds to courts or the Self-Insurers' Security
Fund and specifying appropriate safeguards for that information.
   (i) Requiring an amount to be added to each security deposit to
secure the cost of administration of claims and to pay all legal
costs.
   (j) Regulating the workers' compensation self-insurance
obligations of self-insurance groups and professional employer
organizations, leasing employers as defined in Section 606.5 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code, or temporary services employers, as
defined in Section 606.5 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, holding
certificates of consent to self-insure.



3703.  So long as the certificate has not been revoked, and the
self-insurer maintains on deposit the requisite bond or securities,
the self-insurer shall not be required or obliged to pay into the
State Compensation Insurance Fund any sums covering liability for
compensation excepting life pensions; and the self-insurer may fully
administer any compensation benefits assessed against the
self-insurer.



3705.  The Self-Insurers' Security Fund or the surety making payment
of compensation hereunder shall have the same preference over the
other debts of the principal or his or her estate as is given by law
to the person directly entitled to the compensation.



3706.  If any employer fails to secure the payment of compensation,
any injured employee or his dependents may bring an action at law
against such employer for damages, as if this division did not apply.



3706.5.  The provisions of this article and Sections 4553, 4554, and
4555, and any other penalty provided by law for failure to secure
the payment of compensation for employees, shall not apply to
individual members of a board or governing body of a public agency or
to members of a private, nonprofit organization, if the agency or
organization performs officiating services relating to amateur
sporting events and such members are excluded from the definition of
"employee" pursuant to subdivision (j) of Section 3352.



3707.  The injured employee or his dependents may in such action
attach the property of the employer, at any time upon or after the
institution of such action, in an amount fixed by the court, to
secure the payment of any judgment which is ultimately obtained. The
provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, not inconsistent with this
division, shall govern the issuance of, and proceedings upon such
attachment.



3708.  In such action it is presumed that the injury to the employee
was a direct result and grew out of the negligence of the employer,
and the burden of proof is upon the employer, to rebut the
presumption of negligence. It is not a defense to the employer that
the employee was guilty of contributory negligence, or assumed the
risk of the hazard complained of, or that the injury was caused by
the negligence of a fellow servant. No contract or regulation shall
restore to the employer any of the foregoing defenses.
   This section shall not apply to any employer of an employee, as
defined in subdivision (d) of Section 3351, with respect to such
employee, but shall apply to employers of employees described in
subdivision (b) of Section 3715, with respect to such employees.



3708.5.  If an employee brings such an action for damages, the
employee shall forthwith give a copy of the complaint to the
Uninsured Employers Fund of the action by personal service or
certified mail. Proof of such service shall be filed in such action.
If a civil action has been initiated against the employer pursuant to
Section 3717, the actions shall be consolidated.



3709.  If, as a result of such action for damages, a judgment is
obtained against the employer, any compensation awarded, paid, or
secured by the employer shall be credited against the judgment. The
court shall allow as a first lien against such judgment the amount of
compensation paid by the director from the Uninsured Employers Fund
pursuant to Section 3716.
   Such judgment shall include a reasonable attorney's fee fixed by
the court. The director, as administrator of the Uninsured Employers
Fund, shall have a first lien against any proceeds of settlement in
such action, before or after judgment, in the amount of compensation
paid by the director from the Uninsured Employers Fund pursuant to
Section 3716.
   No satisfaction of a judgment in such action, in whole or in part,
shall be valid as against the director without giving the director
notice and a reasonable opportunity to perfect and satisfy his lien.



3709.5.  After the payment of attorney's fees fixed by the court,
the employer shall be relieved from the obligation to pay further
compensation to or on behalf of the employee under this division up
to the entire amount of the balance of the judgment, if satisfied, or
such portion as has been satisfied.
   After the satisfaction by the employer of the attorney's fees
fixed by the court, the Uninsured Employers Fund shall be relieved
from the obligation to pay further compensation to or on behalf of
the employee pursuant to Section 3716, up to the entire amount of the
balance of the judgment, if satisfied, or such portion as has been
satisfied.
   The appeals board shall allow as a credit to the employer and to
the Uninsured Employers Fund, to be applied against the liability for
compensation, the amount recovered by the employee in such action,
either by settlement or after the judgment, as has not been applied
to the expense of attorney's fees and costs.