What Is California Labor Code §3351: Workers' Comp for Every Worker Regardless of Immigration Status?

"Employee" means every person in the service of an employer under any appointment or contract of hire or apprenticeship, express or implied, oral or written, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed, and includes: (a) Aliens and minors. (b) All elected and appointed paid public officers.

What does Labor Code 3351 do for undocumented workers?

Labor Code 3351 defines employee to include every worker regardless of immigration status. An undocumented California worker is entitled to the same comp benefits as any documented employee. The law gives no employer a status-based defense.

Labor Code 3351 is California's employee-definition rule. It covers every worker whose injury arises from employment. An undocumented worker gets the same benefits as any other California employee. Medical care, wage replacement, and settlement rights are all equal. Yazdchi Law handles Labor Code 3351 cases throughout Greater Los Angeles.

How does Labor Code 3351 interact with the no-fault rule?

Labor Code 3351 works alongside the Labor Code 3600 no-fault rule. Once the injury is industrial and the worker is an employee, coverage attaches regardless of immigration status.

Labor Code 3351 defines who is an employee. Labor Code 3600 provides benefits for any injury arising from employment. These two statutes give every undocumented worker the same no-fault rights. The employer cannot claim a status-based defense.

Does Labor Code 3351 protect against immigration-status retaliation?

An employer cannot use immigration status as a weapon against a comp claimant. Labor Code 244 separately bars employers from threatening to report a worker for exercising any labor right, including filing a comp claim.

Labor Code 3351 confirms coverage. Labor Code 244 bars an employer from threatening immigration reporting. That threat is a dual violation. Labor Code 132a also applies. Remedies include reinstatement, back wages, and a $10,000 comp increase.

What benefits does an undocumented California worker receive?

Under Labor Code 3351, an undocumented injured worker receives the full benefit stack: medical care, temporary disability, permanent disability, and the SJDB retraining voucher, the same as any documented employee.

Medical treatment is covered under Labor Code 4600. Temporary disability is paid at two-thirds of earnings under Labor Code 4653. Permanent disability is rated under Labor Code 4660. The SJDB voucher under Labor Code 4658.7 pays up to $6,000 for retraining. The rate is based on actual earnings. Immigration status does not affect it.

Does Labor Code 3351 extend the right to an interpreter?

Yes. Under Labor Code 5811, a non-English-speaking injured worker has the right to a qualified interpreter at WCAB hearings, depositions, and medical-legal exams, regardless of immigration status.

The interpreter right flows from Labor Code 5811. The cost is charged to the defendant. Labor Code 3351 and Labor Code 5811 work together. Every worker has the right to full participation. Language is not a barrier. Lea esta pagina en espanol: la cobertura de trabajadores indocumentados bajo el Labor Code 3351.

Eman Yazdchi is a Certified Specialist in workers' compensation law, certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization, State Bar of California. Yazdchi Law serves injured workers throughout Greater Los Angeles. We appear at the WCAB in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Pomona, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Oxnard. Call (661) 273-1780 for a free case review.