Is workmans compensation insurance required in the state of California?

Answer 1

Yes, California law requires employers to have workers' compensation insurance if they have even one employee.

If you are a roofer and don't have any employees, you are still required to carry workers' compensation insurance. If you are a real estate broker you are required to carry workers' compensation insurance for your agents, even if they are independent contractors.

Out-of-state employers may need workers' compensation coverage if an employee is regularly employed in California or a contract of employment is entered into here.

D. Edwards

TECHNICALLY THIS IS NOT TRUE!!

The Definition of "Employer" for the purpose of workers Compensation found at 3300 of the Labor code is strictly limited to State agencies, and public corporations:

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.

(C) is the tricky one. The fact that there is no comma before "including" makes

this a restrictive clause.

Look at the other sections of the CA labor code and you will ALWAYS see a comma

before "including":

Cal Labor Code 1404

A person, including a local government or an employee representative, seeking to establish liability against an employer may bring a civil action on behalf of the person, other persons similarly situated, or both, in any court of competent jurisdiction. The court may award reasonable attorney's fees as part of costs to any plaintiff who prevails in a civil action brought under this chapter.

Cal Labor Code 350(b)

(b) "Employee" means every person, including aliens and minors, rendering actual service in any business for an employer, whether gratuitously or for wages or pay, whether the wages or pay are measured by the standard of time, piece, task, commission, or other method of calculation, and whether the service is rendered on a commission, concessionaire, or other basis.

Cal Labor Code 1160.6

…Upon the filing of any such petition, the board shall cause notice thereof to be served upon any person involved in the charge and such person, including the charging party, shall be given an opportunity to appear by counsel and present any relevant testimony.

Cal Labor Code 4907

The privilege of any person, including attorneys admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the state to appear in any proceeding as a representative of any party before the appeals board, or any of its referees, may, after a hearing, be removed, denied, or suspended by the appeals board for a violation of this chapter or for other good cause.

Cal Labor Code 1701

(b) "Audition" means any activity for the purpose of obtaining employment, compensated or not, as an artist whereby an artist meets with, interviews or performs before, or displays his or her talent before, any person, including a producer, a director, or a casting director, or an associate, representative, or designee of a producer, director, or casting director, who has, or is represented to have, input into the decision to select an artist for an employment opportunity. An "audition" may be in-person or through electronic means, live or recorded, and may include a performance or other display of the artist's promotional materials.

Cal Labor Code 1704

A person, including, an owner, officer, director, agent, or employee of a talent service, who willfully violates any provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor. Each violation is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment. However, payment of restitution to an artist shall take precedence over the payment of a fine. The purpose of this trick is that The State Cannot force a private employer into

obtaining an insurance program.

See what the State Style manual, A dictionary of Modern Legal Usage, and

many college style manuals have to say about commas:

Dict of Modern Legal Usage 766

"Restrictive clauses are essential to the grammatical and logical completeness of a sentence.

Nonrestrictive clauses, by contrast, are so loosely connected with the essential meaning of the sentence that they

might be omitted without changing the essential meaning.

King County Style Manual

"Including, such as. Use these terms when the items that follow are only part of the total; don't list everything or end the list with words like and more, and others, etc.

If the words that follow these terms are essential to the meaning of a sentence,

do not put commas before the phrase. But if the words that follow these terms are not essential, commas are appropriate. (Words are nonessential if they can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence.)"

First, if you cannot omit the clause without changing the basic meaning, the clause is restrictive; use that without a comma. Second, if you can omit the clause without changing the basic meaning, the clause is non restrictive; use which after a comma."

Lastly:

Michigan State University Editorial Style Guide" states:

"Whether to use a comma before "including" depends on the intended meaning of the sentence. The presence of a comma makes the sentence nonrestrictive:

[example given] He managed a variety of projects, including joint, combined, and contingency exercises. (Projects may include joint, combined, or contingency exercises or some combination of the three.)

The absence of a comma makes the sentence restrictive:

[example given] He managed a variety of projects including joint, combined, and contingency exercises. (Every project must include joint, combined, and contingency exercises.)