Short answer: yes. Undocumented workers injured on the job in California are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits on the same terms as any other employee. Labor Code section 3351 defines “employee” to include every person in the service of an employer, including “aliens and minors, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed,” and Labor Code section 1171.5 declares that all protections of state labor law apply regardless of immigration status. The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board does not ask about immigration status, and an employer who threatens to report a worker to immigration authorities for filing a claim commits unlawful retaliation. The courts have applied the same rule to temporary disability, and the only benefit ever denied because of status was the old vocational rehabilitation program, which no longer exists. Abdi & Associates, Inc. represents injured workers throughout California regardless of status, in English and Spanish.
The law: status does not matter
In 2002 California enacted Senate Bill 1818, which added Labor Code section 1171.5, Civil Code section 3339 and Government Code section 7285. Each states that all rights and remedies available under state law, except reinstatement prohibited by federal law, are available to all individuals regardless of immigration status, and that a person’s immigration status is irrelevant to liability, so that no inquiry into status is permitted in a civil action or proceeding to enforce those rights unless the party seeking it shows by clear and convincing evidence that the inquiry is necessary to comply with federal immigration law. Workers’ compensation is one of those rights, and section 3351 has long included unlawfully employed workers within the definition of employee.
The California Supreme Court confirmed the principle in Salas v. Sierra Chemical Co. (2014) 59 Cal.4th 407, an employment discrimination case in which the worker had used another person’s Social Security number. The court held that federal immigration law does not bar an undocumented worker from pursuing California employment claims, while limiting recovery of lost pay for the period after the employer discovers that the worker is not authorized to work. The Court of Appeal applied the same reasoning to workers’ compensation in Farmers Bros. Coffee v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (2005) 133 Cal.App.4th 533, holding that an undocumented worker is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits and that federal law does not preempt them.
Benefits an undocumented worker can receive
- Medical treatment for the injury, with no co-pay and no dollar limit (Labor Code section 4600), including surgery, therapy, medication and, when prescribed, home health care.
- Temporary disability payments while a doctor keeps you off work.
- Permanent disability for lasting impairment, including life pensions for the most serious injuries.
- The supplemental job displacement voucher for retraining when you cannot return to your job.
- Death benefits for dependents, including dependents living outside the United States.
- Settlements by stipulated award or compromise and release, approved by a workers’ compensation judge.
An undocumented worker can also bring a civil lawsuit against a third party who caused the injury, such as a driver or a contractor, under Labor Code section 3852, and status is not a defense to that claim either.
Temporary disability and the Del Taco case
Temporary disability replaces wages lost while a doctor keeps you off work. In Del Taco v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (2000) 79 Cal.App.4th 1437, the employer argued that an undocumented worker who could not lawfully be returned to modified work should lose temporary disability. The Court of Appeal rejected that argument and affirmed the temporary disability award, reasoning that the worker remained unable to work because of the injury and was entitled to disability benefits wherever he lived, legally or illegally. The court did annul an award of vocational rehabilitation benefits, a retraining program that has since been replaced by the supplemental job displacement voucher, because the worker’s inability to return to that employer was caused by his status rather than his injury. Insurers still sometimes stop temporary disability when modified work is offered that a worker cannot lawfully accept; whether that is proper depends on the facts, and it should be contested rather than accepted. Medical care, permanent disability and the other benefits are unaffected in any event.
False documents and Social Security numbers
Insurers sometimes argue that a worker who used a false Social Security number or other documents to get the job committed fraud and should lose benefits. That argument fails: the documents relate to obtaining the job, not to the workers’ compensation claim, and California law makes status irrelevant to the claim. Workers’ compensation fraud means lying about the injury or the claim itself, which no injured worker should ever do. Tell the truth about how you were hurt and let the immigration paperwork issue stay where it belongs.
Retaliation and immigration threats
It is illegal for an employer to fire, threaten or punish you for filing a workers’ compensation claim (Labor Code section 132a), and it is separately illegal for an employer to threaten to contact immigration authorities, or to report or threaten to report a worker’s suspected immigration status, because the worker exercised a right under the Labor Code (Labor Code sections 244(b) and 1019). An employer that does so can be liable for penalties and damages, and a business license can be suspended for repeated violations. Threats of this kind should be documented and reported to a lawyer immediately; they are evidence in your favor, not a reason to abandon the claim.
Will filing a claim lead to deportation?
The Division of Workers’ Compensation and the Appeals Board are state agencies that adjudicate injury claims; they do not verify immigration status, do not ask for it, and are prohibited by section 1171.5 from inquiring into it except in the narrow circumstance described above. California law also limits cooperation between state agencies and federal immigration enforcement. No lawyer can promise what federal authorities will do in any individual case, but the workers’ compensation process itself does not involve them, and undocumented workers receive workers’ compensation benefits in California every day. Talk to a lawyer confidentially before deciding; the consultation is protected by the attorney-client privilege.
Settling a claim
A settlement is part of the claim, not an alternative to it. Both kinds of settlement, a stipulated award with future medical care or a lump-sum compromise and release, must be approved by a workers’ compensation judge as adequate, and both are available to undocumented workers. Because a compromise and release closes future medical care, the value of that care must be estimated carefully before a worker without other health coverage agrees to one.
What to do if you are hurt at work
- Report the injury to your employer within 30 days and ask for the DWC-1 claim form. You do not have to state your immigration status to report an injury or file a claim.
- Get medical care and tell the doctor the injury happened at work.
- Keep a copy of everything you sign and every notice you receive.
- Do not sign a resignation, release or “settlement” presented by the employer without advice.
- Write down any threat or comment about your status, with the date and who said it.
- Call a workers’ compensation lawyer. Attorney fees are set by the judge and paid from the benefits, not up front.
How Abdi & Associates can help
Abdi & Associates, Inc. represents undocumented and documented workers alike in workers’ compensation claims throughout California. We handle the claim from the first report through settlement or trial, respond to retaliation, and evaluate whether a third-party injury claim exists. We work remotely, by phone, video and secure electronic signature, and we can handle your case in Spanish. Call (888) 772-2529 or, en español, (323) 310-4264. Lea esta información en español en nuestra página de abogado de accidente de trabajo.
Frequently asked questions
Can an undocumented worker get workers’ compensation in California?
Yes. Labor Code sections 3351 and 1171.5 make immigration status irrelevant to the right to benefits.
Can my employer report me to immigration if I file a claim?
Threatening to do so because you filed a claim is unlawful retaliation under Labor Code sections 132a, 244 and 1019, and it exposes the employer to penalties.
I used a false Social Security number to get the job. Does that cancel my claim?
No. The claim depends on whether you were injured at work, not on the documents used to get hired. Never lie about the injury itself.
Can I collect temporary disability while undocumented?
Yes. The Court of Appeal affirmed temporary disability for an undocumented worker in the Del Taco case. If an insurer stops payments because of a modified-work offer you cannot lawfully accept, have a lawyer review it.
Related pages
- Los Angeles workers’ compensation attorney
- Retaliation after a workers’ compensation claim
- Construction accident claims
- Warehouse and forklift injuries in California
- Abogado de accidente de trabajo
Sources: Cal. Lab. Code §§ 132a, 244, 1019, 1171.5, 3351, 3852, 4600; Cal. Civ. Code § 3339; Cal. Gov. Code § 7285; Salas v. Sierra Chemical Co. (2014) 59 Cal.4th 407; Farmers Bros. Coffee v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (2005) 133 Cal.App.4th 533; Del Taco v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (2000) 79 Cal.App.4th 1437.
Reviewed by Shawn Abdi, Esq., Abdi & Associates, Inc. Last reviewed: September 4, 2026. Attorney advertising. This page is general information, not legal advice about your specific situation. Legal deadlines have exceptions; confirm the deadlines that apply to your case with a lawyer.