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California Labor Code §3208.3 — Psychiatric Injury Six-Month Rule
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By Eman Yazdchi, Esq. · Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization · Cal Bar #285231
(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.
What does California Labor Code §3208.3 establish?
Section 3208.3 sets California's strict rule for psychiatric workers' compensation claims, including a six-month employment requirement and a high causation threshold.
Section 3208.3 is California's strict rule for psychiatric workers' compensation claims, including the six-month employment requirement, the predominant-cause threshold, and the violent-act exception that lets a worker get past the six-month rule when the injury came from a sudden, extraordinary event. The bar is high. Certified Specialist Eman Yazdchi (California Board of Legal Specialization, State Bar of California) builds psychiatric files that meet section 3208.3.
California Labor Code §3208.3 imposes specific requirements on California psychiatric injury claims that go beyond the general §3208.1 injury definition. Under §3208.3, a California worker generally must have been employed by the employer for at least six months before a compensable psychiatric injury can be claimed; the actual events of employment must be the predominant cause of the psychiatric injury (at least 51%); and the injury must fall within a DSM-recognized psychiatric diagnosis. The §3208.3 six-month rule was designed to prevent short-tenure California workers from filing psychiatric claims based on routine workplace stress; the §3208.3 predominant-cause rule was designed to limit psychiatric claims to those where work is genuinely the major cause.
What is the §3208.3 California six-month employment threshold?
The worker generally must have worked at least six months before the psychiatric injury for the claim to be covered under section 3208.3.
Under California Labor Code §3208.3, the California psychiatric injury claim generally requires the California worker to have been employed by the employer for at least six months before the alleged psychiatric injury. The §3208.3 California six-month rule is calculated from the start of employment to the date of injury for a specific psychiatric event, or to the cumulative-trauma date of injury for a cumulative psychiatric injury under the California Labor Code §5412 California discovery rule. The §3208.3 California six-month threshold can be aggregated across multiple periods of employment with the same California employer in some circumstances. Failure to meet the §3208.3 California six-month threshold defeats the California psychiatric claim unless a recognized §3208.3 California exception applies.
What is the §3208.3 California violent-act exception?
The violent-act exception lets a worker get past the six-month rule when the injury arose from a sudden, extraordinary, work-related event.
Under California Labor Code §3208.3, the California six-month employment threshold does not apply when the psychiatric injury arises from a sudden and extraordinary event, typically involving violence, witnessing a fatal accident, or surviving a workplace catastrophe. The §3208.3 California violent-act exception covers California workers exposed to robberies, assaults, fatal injuries to coworkers, severe accidents on the worksite, and similar extraordinary trauma. The §3208.3 California exception allows a California worker with less than six months of employment to file a compensable psychiatric claim when the precipitating event was a sudden and extraordinary trauma rather than routine workplace stress. The §3208.3 California exception is essential for industries where new hires can be exposed to catastrophic events early in tenure.
What is the §3208.3 California predominant-cause requirement?
The predominant-cause requirement means work events must have caused more than fifty percent of the resulting psychiatric injury.
Under California Labor Code §3208.3, the California psychiatric injury claim requires the actual events of employment to be the predominant cause of the psychiatric injury, meaning at least 51% of the cause must be work-related. The §3208.3 California predominant-cause rule was designed to prevent claims where work was only a minor contributing factor to a primarily personal-life psychiatric condition. The §3208.3 California predominant-cause requirement is documented through QME or AME reports under California Labor Code §4062.1 California or California Labor Code §4062.2 California, with the evaluator analyzing the relative contributions of work events vs. non-work life events to the psychiatric condition. The §3208.3 California rule is stricter than the general industrial-causation standard.
How does §3208.3 California interact with §3208.1 injury definition and section 4660.1 add-on restrictions?
The rule layers onto the injury-definition rule and onto the add-on restrictions that limit psychiatric impairments in post-2013 cases.
Under California Labor Code §3208.3 (psychiatric injury), California Labor Code §3208.1 (special injury definitions), and the section 4660.1 California restriction on psychiatric add-on impairments, the California psychiatric-claim framework operates in two distinct universes. Standalone psychiatric claims under California Labor Code §3208.3 California are governed by the six-month threshold, the predominant-cause rule, and the DSM-diagnosis requirement; add-on psychiatric impairment in a 2013-onward physical claim is barred by section 4660.1 California except for violent-act and catastrophic-injury cases. The California Labor Code §3208.3 California rule controls when psychiatric injury can be claimed on its own; section 4660.1 California controls when psychiatric impairment can be added to a physical-injury rating.
Related on yazdchilaw.com: California workers' compensation lawyer pillar · California Labor Code §3208.3 (mental-stress claim) · California Labor Code §4658.7 explained · workers' comp for mental-health claims in California.
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What does California Labor Code §3208.3 actually establish for psychiatric claims?
California Labor Code §3208.3 imposes specific requirements on California psychiatric injury claims that go beyond the general California Labor Code §3208.1 California injury definition. Under §3208.3, a California worker generally must have been employed by the employer for at least six months before a compensable psychiatric injury can be claimed; the actual events of employment must be the predominant cause of the psychiatric injury (at least 51%); and the injury must fall within a DSM-recognized psychiatric diagnosis. The §3208.3 California six-month rule was designed to prevent short-tenure California workers from filing psychiatric claims based on routine workplace stress.
What is the §3208.3 California six-month employment threshold?
Under California Labor Code §3208.3, the California psychiatric injury claim generally requires the California worker to have been employed by the employer for at least six months before the alleged psychiatric injury. The §3208.3 California six-month rule is calculated from the start of employment to the date of injury for a specific psychiatric event, or to the cumulative-trauma date of injury under the California Labor Code §5412 California discovery rule. The §3208.3 California six-month threshold can be aggregated across multiple periods of employment with the same California employer in some circumstances. Failure to meet the §3208.3 California threshold defeats the California psychiatric claim unless an exception applies.
What is the §3208.3 California violent-act exception to the six-month rule?
Under California Labor Code §3208.3, the California six-month employment threshold does not apply when the psychiatric injury arises from a sudden and extraordinary event, typically involving violence, witnessing a fatal accident, or surviving a workplace catastrophe. The §3208.3 California violent-act exception covers California workers exposed to robberies, assaults, fatal injuries to coworkers, severe accidents on the worksite, and similar extraordinary trauma. The §3208.3 California exception allows a California worker with less than six months of employment to file a compensable psychiatric claim when the precipitating event was sudden and extraordinary rather than routine workplace stress.
What is the §3208.3 California predominant-cause requirement?
Under California Labor Code §3208.3, the California psychiatric injury claim requires the actual events of employment to be the predominant cause of the psychiatric injury, meaning at least 51% of the cause must be work-related. The §3208.3 California predominant-cause rule was designed to prevent claims where work was only a minor contributing factor to a primarily personal-life psychiatric condition. The §3208.3 California predominant-cause requirement is documented through QME or AME reports under California Labor Code §4062.1 California or California Labor Code §4062.2 California, with the evaluator analyzing the relative contributions of work events vs. non-work life events to the psychiatric condition.
How does §3208.3 California interact with §3208.1 injury definition and §4660.1 add-on restrictions?
Under California Labor Code §3208.3 (psychiatric injury), California Labor Code §3208.1 (special injury definitions), and the section 4660.1 California restriction on psychiatric add-on impairments, the California psychiatric-claim framework operates in two distinct universes. Standalone psychiatric claims under California Labor Code §3208.3 California are governed by the six-month threshold, the predominant-cause rule, and the DSM-diagnosis requirement; add-on psychiatric impairment in a 2013-onward physical claim is barred by section 4660.1 California except for violent-act and catastrophic-injury cases. The California Labor Code §3208.3 California rule controls when psychiatric injury can be claimed on its own; section 4660.1 California controls add-on psychiatric impairment.
Last reviewed by Eman Yazdchi, Esq., June 2026.
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