“Eman at Yazdchi Law was extremely professional, responsive, and supportive at all times. He and his staff exceeded all of my expectations.”
Andrea Dalessandro
✦ Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law — Certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization ✦
Serving injured workers across California. Board-certified specialist; no fee unless we win.
By Eman Yazdchi, Esq. · Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization
In California, Labor Code §2810 bars a person or entity from entering a construction, farm-labor, garment, janitorial, security-guard, port-drayage, or warehouse labor contract when it knows or should know the contract lacks funds sufficient for wage, workers' comp, and labor-law compliance. Yazdchi Law handles California §2810 claims statewide.
California Labor Code §2810 bars a California person or entity from entering a construction, farm-labor, garment, janitorial, security-guard, port-drayage, or warehouse labor contract when it knows or should know the contract lacks funds sufficient for the contractor to comply with wage, workers' compensation, and other labor-law obligations. The §2810 California rule pushes responsibility upstream — a general contractor cannot turn a blind eye to a subcontractor's underfunded bid and disclaim responsibility when wages go unpaid or injured workers are denied coverage.
California Labor Code §2810 covers seven specific California industries: construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, security guard, port drayage (trucking from port terminals), and warehouse. These industries were chosen by the legislature because of historical patterns of subcontracted labor and wage / comp violations. A §2810 California claim arises when an upstream entity enters a labor contract knowing — or where it should have known — the contract's funding cannot cover the subcontractor's wage and comp obligations.
Under California Labor Code §3700, every California employer must carry workers' compensation insurance. Under California Labor Code §2810, the upstream California hiring entity has a due-diligence duty when entering a labor contract in a covered industry. When a §2810 contract is underfunded such that the subcontractor cannot carry §3700 comp insurance, the §2810 violation exposes the upstream entity to civil liability. If a worker is injured and the subcontractor is uninsured, California Labor Code §3706 also opens civil court against the uninsured contractor.
A California §2810 claim typically arises after a worker is injured on a job covered by a labor contract — a construction subcontract, a farm labor contract, a janitorial contract, a port-drayage agreement — and the immediate employer turns out to be uninsured for workers' compensation under California Labor Code §3700 or unable to pay wages. The injured California worker (or unpaid worker) can sue the upstream contracting entity under §2810 when the contract was facially underfunded and the upstream entity knew or should have known.
Under California Labor Code §2810 and California Labor Code §2775, the California labor-contract due-diligence rule and the ABC test work together against upstream entities that use chains of subcontractors and "1099" labels to avoid responsibility for worker safety and comp coverage. A general contractor that subcontracts through a labor middleman who labels workers "1099 contractors" — when §2775 ABC would classify them as employees — can face §2810 California liability plus §2775 misclassification liability.
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Tap to call →Last reviewed by Eman Yazdchi, Esq., May 2026.
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