California Muscling Out-of-State Athletes from Workers’ Comp System

Democratic California Senators Jerry Hill and Rod Wright laugh after Wright cast a vote against the workers comp bill Hill was carrying in the Senate on Sept. 6. By a 34-2 vote the Senate approved the bill, by Assemblyman Henry Perea, D-Fresno. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

A California bill that allows out-of-state athletes to receive workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained on the state’s sports fields is advancing, inciting mixed responses from players in the insurance industry.

“Workers’ compensation, while it is paid by employers in the state, is causing more than 4,000 claims in California, often including payouts to athletes that have only played a game or two here,” says Gary Toebben, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, who supports the measure. “The state has a guarantee corporation, funded by taxpayers, that assumes responsibility for claims made and approved in the state, so out-of-state claims cause rates to be driven up for employers and taxpayers in the long run.”