Californians are guaranteed a secure income even if they can not find a safe place to work. Workers' compensation is given to workers weakened by an illness that begins, or develops, on the job and that limits their ability to do their job.

The payments replace part of the earned money lost during the time the illness lasts.

Work Illnesses That Limit Work

Cleaning up at closing time can be dangerous. Chemical skin corrosion can get so bad the worker has to get medical treatment to heal and return to work. An illness or disease that "arises out of employment," will get counted by the Division of Workers' Compensation. That means the work caused the illness. Work can be the whole cause, or only one of the causes, even if the worker could have developed the same illness away from the job. In either case, what matters is that something at work made the Californian weaker and ill. Then, the illness is an occupational illness.

The Californian needs the medical help to cure or relieve the illness effects. The serious discomfort, or even pain and serious weakness, can keep the Californian at home, or in a hospital, away from work. An illness that holds the worker back at work and keeps their hours low or productivity down is enough to count for workers' compensation.

Everything that caused the illness did not have to happen at one time or during one period on a job. When a worker aggravates an old health condition, such as heart disease, by putting too much stress on the body, and develops a heart condition serious enough to keep them out of work, the illness counts as one caused by the work. But, a condition first developed during work for a previous employer is the previous employer's responsibility. They pay.

More Than An Upset Stomach

A growling empty stomach will not hold back work. But, an upset stomach that stops working and makes a worker weak, and ill enough to throw up, can be a symptom of an illness caught at work. A virus that makes an organ weaker or one that makes muscle strength fail puts too heavy a burden on the worker for them to work safely. Diseases that always need medical treatment, such as tuberculosis caught by a nurse from a patient, puts an end to job days for a time. Contagious diseases make it necessary to stay away from the workplace. Any coughing up of blood and the worker needs a medical examination.

Cleaning Chemicals That Agitate The Skin

Tough industrial strength cleaning solutions can take the healthy oils and moisture out of the skin, leaving it dry, cracked, and peeling. The Californian might need to take time off to protect their skin from more damage and give the living skin time to grow back to full strength. The health lost during repeated exposures gets treated as an illness.

Loose Knees, Sweaty Brows, and Deaf Ears

Sometimes joints need time to recover and heal from the damage done by repeated bending and lifting of heavy weight. If the damage makes the work task too hard, the worker is too worn out. Treatment and time are needed. Any part of the body impaired by repeated strain counts. Joint linings can wear out in the hands and fingers during years of productive typing. Muscles also can give out during long periods of physical strain. A weak lower back puts a stop to work for awhile. The Californian has to heal and pay the costs before returning to work.

Construction jobs, and even laundry attendant jobs, can keep a worker in the heat for longer than they can keep their body stable. After a long day in 100 degree Fahrenheit heat, heat cramps can make it painful to work, or worse, heat exhaustion or heat stroke can make it too hard, and unsafe, for the worker to stay on their feet.

Loud noise that goes on all day, for years, can deafen the ears. Falling rocks at a quarry or the pounding of the jackhammer. Even the roar of airplanes on the airport tarmac. Any loud noise that makes the worker lose their hearing. The constancy and length of time beats them and makes them unable to work. As long as the problem is a repeated strain on the body that does damage, workers might need to heal from the effects. Heavy drill vibrations that dull the nerves also count.

Cracking Up Under Stress

Workers might take more stress than they can handle on the job. Mental disorders count as an illness in California when the job stress disturbed the worker and made them overly burdened by work. They do have to be diagnosed by a professional using criteria, such as the criteria in the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual used by psychiatrists.

Paid Time To Heal

Days off of work might be unpleasant, but not insecure. Workers' compensation pays for the medical treatment and a part of the lost income

Sources:

Industrial Medical Council, California Department of Industrial Relations, Physician's Guide: Medical Practice in the California Workers' Compensation System (Third Edition, 2001).

California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation, Workers' Compensation in California: A Guidebook for Injured Workers (Third Edition, November 2006).