“It’s a small company.”

What “small” does not mean

Not “no coverage required.” The obligation attaches to employers generally, not to employers above a headcount.

Not “you’re an independent contractor.” The law presumes that any person rendering service for another is an employee, and the burden of proving otherwise is on the business.

Not “we pay cash.” Cash payment changes how the employment relationship is proved — texts, schedules, photographs, coworkers, deposit records — not whether you are covered.

Not “you’re family.” The exclusion in § 3352 for a person employed by their own parent, spouse, or child is narrow, and it applies to the residential-employee category in § 3351(d). Working for a family business is not the same as being employed by your parent or spouse.

Two categories that genuinely are different

Household and residential employees. The law includes them — and the law excludes only those whose job was, or was agreed to be, under 52 hours or not more than $100 in wages in the 90 days before the injury. Fifty-two hours in ninety days is about four hours a week. Caregivers and domestic workers.

Certain owners and officers who executed written waivers — corporate officers and directors with 10% or more ownership, general partners, LLC managing members, and professional corporation owners. A waiver requires a written, executed document. It is not the default.

Verify it yourself

Search caworkcompcoverage.com, and if that is inconclusive, request a Coverage Research Service Request from the WCIRB — for the date of injuryDate of injury For a cumulative or occupational disease claim, the law sets it as when you first suffered disability and knew or should have known it was work-related — not when the wear began. Almost every deadline runs off this., which in a cumulative traumaCT — Cumulative trauma Injury from repeated exposure over time. The largest injury category in California and the least claimed. claim means the whole year before the § 5412 date or your last day of exposure at work, whichever came first. How.

If they really have none

Two routes, usually pursued together.

The Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust FundUEBTF Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund. Pays benefits where the employer was illegally uninsured. pays medical treatment, temporary disabilityTD / TTD / TPD Temporary Disability, Total or Partial. Wage replacement while recovering. Two-thirds of average weekly earnings; 2026 maximum $1,764.11/week., permanent disabilityPD Permanent Disability. Compensation for lasting impairment. A different and much lower weekly rate — 2026 maximum $290/week., job displacement benefits, and death benefits — but it is procedurally unforgiving, and the employer must be formally served and properly joined.

And § 3706 permits a civil action against the employer, where § 3708 presumes negligence and bars contributory negligence, assumption of the risk, and the fellow-servant defense. That case pays for pain and suffering, which workers’ compensation does not. The full route.

Also worth checking: in construction, § 2750.5 can make an unlicensed contractor’s crew employees of the licensed contractor or property owner who hired them. In a staffing arrangement, the law makes the client employer share liability. Construction. · Staffing agencies.

And a word about the relationship

Small-employer claims are hard for a different reason: you know these people.

We are not going to pretend that is nothing. What is true is that the claim is paid by an insurer, not out of the owner’s pocket, where coverage exists — which is the main reason the coverage requirement exists at all. And retaliation for filing is unlawful regardless of the size of the business. How.