California SB 795: Community colleges: nonprofit organizations: financial reports.

Bill Text

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 
 Bill Text - SB-795 Workers’ compensation: professional athletes.

• 

• skip to content

• home

• accessibility

• FAQ

• feedback

• sitemap

• login

• x

 Quick Search:

 Bill Number
 Bill Keyword

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• Home

• Bill Information

• California Law

• Publications

• Other Resources

• My Subscriptions

• My Favorites

• Bill Information
 >>

• Bill Search
 >>

• Text

 Bill Text

 PDF2
 Bill PDF

 |Add To My Favorites |Track Bill | Version: 06/18/26 - Amended Assembly
 05/18/26 - Amended Assembly
 01/05/26 - Amended Senate
 02/21/25 - Introduced

 SB-795 Workers’ compensation: professional athletes.(2025-2026)

 Text

 >>

 Votes

 >>

 History
 >>

 Bill Analysis
 >>

 Today's Law As Amended
 >>

 Compare Versions
 >>

 Status
 >>

 Comments To Author

 >>

 Track Bill
 >>

 Add To My Favorites
 >>

 SHARE THIS:

 Date Published: 06/18/2026 09:00 PM

SB795:v96#DOCUMENTBill Start

 Amended
 IN 
 Assembly
 June 18, 2026

 Amended
 IN 
 Assembly
 May 18, 2026

 Amended
 IN 
 Senate
 January 05, 2026

 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

 Senate Bill

No. 795

Introduced by Senator Richardson
(Coauthor: Senator Arreguín)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ávila Farías, Ellis, Quirk-Silva, and Blanca Rubio)

February 21, 2025

An act to amend Section 3600.5 of the Labor Code, relating to workers’ compensation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 795, as amended, Richardson.
 Workers’ compensation: professional athletes.

Existing law establishes a workers’ compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, to compensate an employee, as defined, for injuries sustained in the course of employment. Existing law provides that an injury may be either “specific,” occurring as the result of one incident or exposure that causes disability or need for medical treatment, or “cumulative,” occurring as repetitive mentally or physically traumatic activities extending over a period of time, the combined effect of which causes any disability or need for medical treatment.

Existing law exempts an employee hired outside of this state and their employer from the occupational disease and cumulative injury provisions of this state’s workers’ compensation laws if (1) the employee is a professional athlete, defined for
 purposes of these provisions to include an athlete who is employed at the minor or major league level in the sport of baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, or soccer, (2) that professional athlete is temporarily within this state doing work for their employer, and (3) the employer has furnished workers’ compensation insurance under the laws of the state other than California that covers the professional athlete’s employment while in this state, except as specified. Existing law deems a professional athlete to be temporarily within the state doing work for their employer if, during the 365 consecutive days immediately preceding the professional athlete’s last day of work for the employer within the state, the professional athlete performs less than 20% of their duty days, as defined, in the state.

This bill would revise and recast the above provisions to state that the professional athlete and their employer are exempt from the workers’ compensation system for
 any claim that involves occupational disease or cumulative injury made by the athlete, if the athlete did not perform any work in California or the athlete was temporarily within the state working for their employer. The bill would state that a professional athlete is temporarily within this state if the professional athlete performs less than 20% of their duty days in California, during the last 365 consecutive days of their career. The bill would define a professional athlete as anyone who is paid to play baseball, flag or tackle football, basketball, hockey, soccer, lacrosse, softball, volleyball, rugby, or cricket.

Existing law also exempts a professional athlete and their employer from the occupational disease or cumulative injury provisions of this state’s workers’ compensation laws when all of the professional athlete’s employers in their last year of work as a professional athlete are exempt from these provisions unless the professional athlete has, over the
 course of their professional athletic career, (1) worked for 2 or more seasons for a California-based team or teams, as defined, or worked 20% or more of their duty days in California or for a California-based team, and, (2) worked for fewer than 7 seasons for any team other than a California-based team. Existing law provides that when these conditions are met, liability is determined against those employers who employed the employee during the year immediately preceding the date of injury or the last date on which the employee was employed in an occupation exposing the employee to the hazards of the occupational disease or cumulative injury, whichever occurs first. Existing law defin