Bill > AB1309

This bill amends Section 3600.5 of the Labor Code to clarify workers' compensation exemptions for professional athletes, defining a "professional athlete" as someone playing at a minor or major league level in sports like baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, or soccer, and a "California-based team" as one that plays most of its home games in California. The bill establishes that professional athletes hired outside of California and their employers are exempt from California's workers' compensation laws if the athlete is temporarily in the state and the employer has secured workers' compensation insurance in another state that covers the athlete's work in California, provided that other state also offers reciprocal exemptions. Specifically for occupational diseases or cumulative injuries, a professional athlete is considered temporarily in California if they perform less than 20% of their "duty days" (days services are performed under employer direction) in the state within the 365 days before their last day of work there. The bill also outlines conditions under which a professional athlete's entire career might be exempt from California workers' compensation, particularly if all their employers in their last year of work are exempt, and they have worked fewer than seven seasons for non-California-based teams, while also having a significant connection to California-based teams or work within the state. The intent of the Legislature is to ensure these changes specifically apply only to these defined professional athletes and their employers, without affecting other workers in California, and to clarify their impact on specific court and board decisions.