Bill aims to expand workers comp protections for day laborers

Day laborers in California/ Richard Thornton/Shutterstock Inc.

A bill introduced in the California Legislature would lower the threshold for day laborers to qualify for workers compensation benefits.

Assembly Bill 206, introduced Jan. 23 by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, seeks to eliminate exemptions for employees who work less than 52 hours for a specific employer within 90 days leading up to the injury and those who earned less than $100 for the job.

The law would apply without regard to immigration status, the text of the bill says.

In an email to Business Insurance Friday, a spokesman for Ms. Gonzalez Fletcher said there was no precipitating event that prompted the bill. However, he pointed to a recent report from the Public Policy Institute of California that says 40,000 people perform day labor tasks or seek day labor jobs each day in California, and 70% of those perform hazardous work.

Homeowner insurance policies protect homeowners from liability if a day laborer sustains an injury in a home, with the exception of those earning less than $100 or working less than 52 hours in the preceding 90 days, according to the report.

While most day laborers meet the $100 requirement, few meet the 52-hour/same employer requirement outlined in existing law, the report says. Most day laborers work only three days per week, according to the report.

The report projects an estimated 600 comp claims would be filed if the 52-hour/same employer requirement is eliminated, on par with the number of farm worker comp claims filed in the state each year.