In California, if you have only one employee, you’re required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Should an employee become injured during the course and scope of their employment by an anticipated and foreseeable risk of that employment, he or she will be eligible for benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation laws. Two of the primary benefits provided by those laws involve the employee’s lost earnings and medical care. Regardless of California’s workers’ compensation statutes, accessing benefits can be a complicated endeavor for somebody with no prior legal experience, especially if that individual lacks proficiency in the English language.

Is That Person an Employee or an Independent Contractor?
Countless households in California engage the services of domestic workers like maids, gardeners or nannies. If an accident happens, and one of those people is injured, a genuine question of law might arise as to whether the homeowner is an employer, or the injured person is an independent contractor. If that injured individual is determined to be an independent contractor, he or she isn’t eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. The distinction turns on whether the injured person is an occasional employee or a full-time employee. Here’s a quick and general overview of how California defines full-time employees:

• If a child care worker or nanny works more than 20 hours a week, that person is a full-time employee.
• If somebody who tends to your gardening tasks more than 10 hours a week, that person is a full-time employee.
• Working in either capacity less than the 20 hour or 10 hour thresholds categorizes that individual as an occasional employee who doesn’t fall under the purview of California worker’s compensation laws.

For anything over those thresholds, it’s prudent for California homeowners to carry workers’ compensation insurance. If they can afford that employee, it’s highly likely that they can afford to pay for insurance too.

Job Descriptions Don’t Matter
If you were seriously injured while working at a private home, contact our offices by phone or email. You can arrange to speak or meet with a California workers’ compensation lawyer from our offices. Consultations are free, and we don’t ask for a penny from you in advance. If we enter into a retainer agreement, no legal fees are even due unless we obtain a settlement or award for you. The California legislature recognizes the rights and benefits of employees who have been injured on the job. The fact that a person who has been injured at work is a maid, a gardener or otherwise employed doesn’t operate as a defense for the homeowner. Other considerations control eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits.

Contact a Sacramento Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Today

Attorney Alice A. Strömbom focuses exclusively on Workers’ Compensation Law. She is very familiar with the tactics insurance companies use to avoid providing the medical treatment and disability benefits injured workers deserve, and has a recognized track record in combating such issues.

Contact us right away after being injured as a domestic employee. We’ll listen to you carefully, answer your questions and advise you on your legal options.