"It's a small company."

What "small" does not mean

Not "no coverage required." The obligation under § 3700 attaches to employers generally, not to employers above a headcount.

Not "you're an independent contractor." § 3357 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. § 3351(d) includes them — and § 3352 excludes only those who worked less than 52 hours or earned not more than $100 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 injury, which in a cumulative trauma claim is the § 5412 date, not the date you stopped working. How.

If they really have none

Two routes, usually pursued together.

The Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund pays medical treatment, temporary disability, permanent disability, job displacement benefits, and death benefits — but it is procedurally unforgiving, and the employer must be personally 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, § 2810.3 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 under § 132a regardless of the size of the business. How.