Workers' compensation: employees.

Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, within the Department of Industrial Relations, to compensate an employee for injuries sustained in the course of his or her employment. Existing law requires an employer to carry workers' compensation insurance or secure the payment of compensation for an employee and makes the failure to do so a misdemeanor. Existing law defines an employee, for purposes of the laws governing workers' compensation, to include, among other persons, any person employed by the owner or occupant of a residential dwelling whose duties are incidental to the ownership, maintenance, or use of the dwelling, including the care and supervision of children, or whose duties are personal and not in the course of the trade, business, profession, or occupation of the owner or occupant, except as specified. This bill would specify that the above definition of employee applies without regard to immigration status. The bill would also include within the above definition of an employee, a person who is a day laborer, as defined, thereby expanding the definition of employee for purposes of the laws governing workers' compensation and expanding the scope of a crime. The bill would make additional conforming changes. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.