California Fast Food Worker Injury Lawyer

Fast food crews cook, fry, take orders at the counter and the drive-thru window, handle cash, clean and close, often in a small kitchen during a rush. In May 2025, California had 449,840 fast food and counter workers, according to federal labor data (BLS employment estimate).

California workers' comp pays for a work injury without regard to fault (Labor Code 3600's no-fault coverage rule). A slip during a rush or a burn from a basket you lifted too fast is still covered. This page is about quick-service crews and their questions: franchise employers, teen workers, robberies and kitchen heat. For sit-down restaurants, catering and hotel kitchens, see the restaurant worker injury guide.

Does workers' comp cover fast food workers in California?

Yes. Fast food workers are employees, and workers' comp covers them from the first shift, whether they work part-time, full-time or only on weekends.

California's definition of an employee reaches anyone hired to work for pay, and it names minors and noncitizens (Labor Code section 3351). Immigration status does not limit those rights (Labor Code section 1171.5). Coverage starts on your first day, with no minimum time on the job for a physical injury. A six-month job-length rule applies only to psychiatric claims, and it has an exception for sudden and extraordinary events (Labor Code section 3208.3).

Who is my employer if I work at a franchise?

Your employer is the business that hired you, pays you and runs your shifts, and at a franchised restaurant that may be a local company, not the national brand on the sign.

The name on the building and the name on your paycheck can be different. California requires every pay stub to name the legal entity that is your employer, with its address (Labor Code section 226). The workers' comp notice posted at the restaurant must name that employer's current insurance carrier and who handles claims (Labor Code section 3550). The claim goes to that employer and its insurer.

You do not need to sort this out before you report an injury. Tell your manager, ask for the claim form and take a photo of the posted notice. If the brand's own managers also hire, schedule or direct you, who counts as your employer can become a disputed fact, and a workers' comp attorney can check it. If no insurer turns up at all, read about your options when an employer has no workers' comp coverage or how to check an employer's coverage.

What injuries do fast food workers face?

Fast food work exposes crews to fryer and grill burns, greasy floors, knives and slicers, kitchen heat and violence at the counter.

Fryer and grill burns

Hot oil, grills, steam and hot liquids can cause burns in seconds, especially when the line is moving fast. A severe burn is one of the injuries that can extend temporary disability payments from 104 weeks to as long as 240 weeks within five years (Labor Code section 4656). See how burn injury claims are treated and rated.

Greasy floors and falls

Under Cal/OSHA's working-area rule, a floor slick with grease or water is a hazard the employer must control. Where the work makes floors slippery, the employer must protect them with mats, grates, cleats or another method that works as well (8 CCR 3273). A fall is covered whether or not the restaurant followed that rule (how falls at work are covered).

Knives, slicers and cuts

Prep knives, slicers, box cutters and broken glass can cause deep cuts. Get the cut checked, tell the clinic it happened at work, and keep every work status note. Read more about hand, wrist and finger injury claims.

Kitchen heat

Cal/OSHA's indoor heat rule, in effect since July 23, 2024, applies to indoor work areas that reach 82 degrees while employees are present (8 CCR 3396). The employer must provide free, cool drinking water and a cool-down area, and allow rest breaks to prevent overheating. When the temperature or heat index reaches 87 degrees, or the temperature reaches 82 degrees in a high radiant heat area or for workers in clothing that traps heat, the employer must also measure and record the heat and use control measures to bring it down. See the heat illness workers' comp guide.

Does workers' comp cover a robbery or an attack by a customer?

Yes. An injury from a robbery at the register or the drive-thru, or from an angry customer, is usually a covered work injury, and the emotional harm that can follow may be covered too.

California's workplace violence law names both kinds of attack. It covers violence by someone with no legitimate business at the site, including anyone who comes in intending to commit a crime, and violence by customers (Labor Code section 6401.9). Since July 1, 2024, most employers must have a written workplace violence prevention plan and keep a log of every violent incident. Employees can ask to see the log, and the employer must make it available within 15 calendar days.

Anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress after a robbery can also be a workers' comp injury. When the worker was the victim of a violent act, or was directly exposed to a significant one, work only has to be a substantial cause of the psychiatric injury, at least 35 to 40 percent, instead of the usual rule that work be the predominant cause, generally read as more than half (Labor Code section 3208.3). This guide on assaults at work covers the attacker rules, and the psychiatric injury guide explains how those claims are proven.

Can a teen fast food worker get workers' comp?

Yes. Workers under 18 are covered the same as adults, even if they were working without a permit or past the hours the law allows.

Workers' comp covers minors "whether lawfully or unlawfully employed" (Labor Code section 3351). If a worker under 16 is hurt while illegally employed, the compensation is increased by 50 percent, unless the employer hired the worker based on a birth certificate, driver's license or other reasonable evidence that the worker was over 15 (Labor Code section 4557).

For a worker under 18, the claim deadlines generally do not start to run until a court or the appeals board appoints a guardian, conservator or trustee (Labor Code section 5408). Even so, a parent should help the teen give notice and file the claim form without delay. Questions about work permits, hours and banned tasks for minors go to the Labor Commissioner, which enforces California's child labor laws.

What benefits can an injured fast food worker receive?

When the claim is accepted, workers' comp pays for treatment and replaces part of your pay while you recover. It can also pay for lasting impairment and, in some cases, job retraining.

Tell a manager in writing within 30 days (Labor Code section 5400). You generally have one year to begin the claim (Labor Code section 5405). After the claim form is filed, the employer has one working day to authorize medical treatment, up to $10,000 while it decides the claim (Labor Code section 5402).

How can Yazdchi Law help an injured fast food worker?

Yazdchi Law P.C. helps injured fast food workers anywhere in California from a single office in Palmdale, and it looks at each matter individually before accepting it.

A free consultation starts with a call to (661) 273-1780 or a message through the contact form. Have these ready if you can: the restaurant's address, the company name on your pay stub, the date and time of the injury, your manager's name, any police report number and photos of the floor or equipment. For the order of events in a claim, see the claim process guide.