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✦ 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 §3208.3 governs psychiatric injury workers' compensation claims. Work must be the predominant cause — generally more than 50% of all causes combined — for a mental-stress claim to be compensable. Yazdchi Law, a Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law firm, handles California §3208.3 psychiatric claims statewide. Request a free case review.
Under California Labor Code §3208.3, a California worker bringing a workers' compensation claim for psychiatric injury must prove that the employment was the predominant cause of the condition — generally meaning that work was responsible for more than 50% of all causes combined. The standard is higher than the standard for a physical injury claim under California Labor Code §3600, where any work-related cause is sufficient. The rule was adopted in 1993 and has been strictly enforced since.
Under California Labor Code §3208.3, the California worker must show that actual events of employment caused more than 50% of the psychiatric condition — measured against all causes combined, including pre-existing mental health conditions, family stressors, and other non-industrial factors. The proof typically comes through a Qualified Medical Evaluator under California Labor Code §4062.2 or an Agreed Medical Evaluator, who reviews the worker's psychiatric history and assigns percentage causation to each contributing factor.
Under California Labor Code §3208.3, a California psychiatric injury claim generally requires the worker to have been employed for at least six months with the employer at the time of the alleged workplace stressors. The minimum is waived in two California circumstances: when the psychiatric injury results from a sudden and extraordinary employment event (a robbery, a violent assault, witnessing a death), and when the worker's employment is shorter due to no fault of the worker.
Under California Labor Code §3208.3, a California psychiatric injury claim caused by a "good-faith personnel action" — termination, performance review, disciplinary action, demotion — is not compensable even if work was the predominant cause. The California employer must show the personnel action was actually taken in good faith and was a substantial cause of the injury. The defense does not foreclose claims based on harassment, hostile work environment, or events beyond the personnel action itself.
Under California Labor Code §3208.3, a California psychiatric claim based on a violent act of which the worker was a direct victim or witness — robbery, assault, witnessing a coworker's serious injury, on-duty officer shooting — is subject to a lower threshold. The worker must show actual events of employment were a substantial cause (a percentage causation analysis still applies), and the personnel-action defense generally does not foreclose the claim. The lower threshold recognizes that PTSD from a single workplace trauma differs from cumulative workplace-stress claims.
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Tap to call →Last reviewed by Eman Yazdchi, Esq., May 2026.
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