Labor Code §3600(a)(10) – Claims After You’re Fired

Labor Code §3600(a)(10) says that if you file a workers’ comp claim after you receive a notice of termination or layoff, and the injury happened before that notice, no benefits are paid unless you prove at least one of four things: your employer already knew about the injury, your medical records already showed it, the injury date falls inside the notice period, or (for a cumulative injury or occupational disease) your legal date of injury comes after the notice.

The rule targets claims that first surface after a layoff or firing notice. It does not ban those claims. It adds a proof step that ordinary claims don’t face, and it has its own limits: a notice that isn’t followed by the termination or layoff within 60 days doesn’t count, and an employer that issues frequent notices loses the rule for that worker. For practical next steps if you were let go after getting hurt, see our guide to filing workers’ comp after being fired or quitting. This page explains the statute itself, condition by condition.

What Labor Code §3600(a)(10) says

Section 3600 lists the conditions an injury must meet before an employer owes workers’ compensation. Subdivision (a) has ten numbered paragraphs. Most deal with how the injury happened: in the course of the job, caused by the work, not from intoxication, not self-inflicted, not from a fight you started. Our Labor Code §3600 page covers all of them. Paragraph (10) is different. It is about when the claim is filed.

In plain English, paragraph (10) applies when three things are true:

• The claim is filed after a notice. The statute covers a claim “filed after notice of termination or layoff, including voluntary layoff.”
• The injury came before the notice. The claim must be “for an injury occurring prior to the time of notice of termination or layoff.”
• The notice took effect. The termination or layoff actually followed within 60 days, and the employer did not issue frequent notices (both explained below).

When all three apply, “no compensation shall be paid unless the employee demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence” that at least one of four listed conditions is met. “Preponderance of the evidence” means more likely than not. You only need one condition, not all four.

Key fact

Who the rule covers

• Workers who get a termination or layoff notice. The text expressly includes a “voluntary layoff,” so accepting a voluntary layoff does not take a claim outside the rule.
• Physical injuries and most other claims. Psychiatric injury claims are carved out. They fall under a separate post-termination rule in Labor Code §3208.3(e), covered below.
• Certain school and college employees, on a different trigger. For employees who receive notice under Education Code sections 44948.5, 44949, 44951, 44955, 72411, 87740 and 87743, the notice counts only “upon a district’s final decision not to reemploy that person.”

The rule does not reach a claim filed before any termination or layoff notice. It also says nothing about resignations. The text names terminations and layoffs only, so if you quit, ask a lawyer whether paragraph (10) applies to your situation before assuming it does.

Watch: injured at work in California

Our attorneys explain what your employer must do after a work injury, and what to do in the first 24 hours to protect your claim.

The four conditions, one by one

Condition	What the statute requires	The kind of proof that fits
(A) Prior notice	The employer had notice of the injury “as provided under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 5400)” before the notice of termination or layoff.	A written injury report, an email or text to a supervisor, or a supervisor who saw or was told about the injury
(B) Prior medical records	“The employee’s medical records, existing prior to the notice of termination or layoff, contain evidence of the injury.”	Records of a clinic, urgent care, doctor or chiropractor visit dated before the notice
(C) Injury during the notice period	The date of injury under §5411 is after the date of the notice but before the termination or layoff takes effect.	Proof of when a specific incident happened, such as an incident report or witness
(D) Cumulative injury dated after notice	The date of injury under §5412 is after the date of the notice.	Medical records and dates showing when you first had disability and knew, or should have known, the work caused it

Condition (A): what “notice” means

Condition (A) borrows the notice rules of Chapter 2, which starts with Labor Code §5400. Under §5400, written notice within 30 days is the basic rule. Under §5402(a), knowledge of the injury “obtained from any source” by the employer, its managing agent, superintendent, foreman or other person in authority is “equivalent to service under Section 5400.” So telling your supervisor counts, even if you never filled out a form. Our page on Labor Code §5400 and the 30-day notice explains those rules.

Condition (B): which medical records count

The statute says “the employee’s medical records.” It does not limit them to workers’ comp doctors. What matters is that the records existed before the notice and contain evidence of the injury.

Conditions (C) and (D): the date of injury

For a specific injury, §5411 sets the date of injury as the date of the incident or exposure. Condition (C) covers an incident that happens after you get the notice but before your last day takes effect. For cumulative trauma and occupational disease, §5412 sets the date of injury as the date you “first suffered disability” and knew, or reasonably should have known, that the work caused it. Condition (D) applies when that date falls after the notice, with no requirement that it come before your last day. Our Labor Code §5412 page explains how that date is fixed.

Exceptions and limits on the rule

• The 60-day rule. “A notice of termination or layoff that is not followed within 60 days by that termination or layoff shall not be subject to the provisions of this paragraph.” If a layoff is announced and then delayed past 60 days or cancelled, that notice does not trigger paragraph (10), and the paragraph “shall not apply until receipt of a later notice of termination or layoff.”
• Frequent notices are bad faith. “The issuance of frequent notices of termination or layoff to an employee shall be considered a bad faith personnel action and shall make this paragraph inapplicable to the employee.”
• Psychiatric injuries. Paragraph (10) does not apply to psychiatric claims. Instead, Labor Code §3208.3(e) requires the worker to show that “actual events of employment were predominant as to all causes combined” of the psychiatric injury, and then meet one of five conditions: sudden and extraordinary employment events, prior notice to the employer, pre-notice medical records showing treatment, a finding of sexual or racial harassment, or a date of injury after the notice but before the termination or layoff takes effect.

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What happens if no condition is met

Paragraph (10) is a condition of compensation, not a penalty. If it applies and you cannot prove any of the four conditions, the statute says “no compensation shall be paid” on that claim. It does not penalize the employer, and it does not make the firing itself legal or illegal.

A separate law covers being fired because of a work injury or a claim. Labor Code §132a prohibits discrimination against workers who file or plan to file a claim. See our guide to workers’ comp retaliation under §132a.

Key fact

Deadlines that still apply

Paragraph (10) has no filing deadline of its own. It changes what you must prove, not when you must file. The usual workers’ comp deadlines still run:

Event	Rule	Statute
Work injury	Written notice to the employer within 30 days, unless the employer already knew or was not misled or prejudiced	§§5400, 5402, 5403
Employer learns of an injury that causes lost time beyond the shift or needs more than first aid	Employer must provide a claim form within one working day	§5401(a)
Termination or layoff notice	Counts only if the termination or layoff follows within 60 days	§3600(a)(10)
Filing a case with the WCAB	Generally one year; see the §5405 page for when the year starts	§5405

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Related sections

Section	What it covers
§3600	All the conditions of compensation, including paragraphs (1) through (9)
§3208.3(e)	The separate post-termination rule for psychiatric injuries
§5400	Written notice of injury within 30 days
§5402	Employer knowledge equals notice; the 90-day rule for denying a claim
§5411	Date of injury for a specific injury
§5412	Date of injury for cumulative trauma and occupational disease
§132a	Discrimination against workers who are injured or file claims

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How it plays out

💡 Example: Rosa, a hypothetical warehouse picker, strains her lower back lifting a case on February 10, 2026, and tells her supervisor that afternoon. She keeps working. On March 2, 2026, she receives a written layoff notice effective March 27, 2026. The layoff takes effect 25 days after the notice, inside the 60-day window, so the notice counts. Rosa files a claim form on April 6, 2026. Because she filed after the notice for an injury that happened before it, paragraph (10) applies. Her report to her supervisor on February 10 is notice under Chapter 2, so she meets condition (A). If she had told no one but had visited an urgent care clinic for her back on February 20, those records would support condition (B). If her employer had instead postponed the layoff to June 1, 2026, which is 91 days after the notice, the March 2 notice would not trigger paragraph (10) at all.

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What to do if this rule could apply to you

Our guide to workers’ comp after being fired or quitting covers the full process, step by step. Under paragraph (10) itself, three sets of dates do most of the work:

• The notice dates. When you received the termination or layoff notice and when it took effect decide whether the 60-day rule lets the notice count.
• Anything dated before the notice. Employer knowledge (condition A) and medical records (condition B) both turn on what existed before the notice.
• The date of injury. Conditions (C) and (D) turn on the §5411 or §5412 date of injury, compared with the notice date.

Paragraph (10) adds no deadline of its own, so waiting gains nothing, and the regular deadlines keep running.

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Frequently asked questions

Does Labor Code §3600(a)(10) bar claims filed after a termination notice?

No. It does not bar them. If the claim is filed after the notice for an injury that happened before it, you must also prove one of the four conditions by a preponderance of the evidence.

Does paragraph (10) cover a resignation?

The text refers to a “notice of termination or layoff, including voluntary layoff.” It does not mention resignations. Whether a resignation is treated the same way depends on the facts, so get advice before assuming the rule applies.

What counts as notice to my employer under condition (A)?

Notice “as provided under Chapter 2,” which starts at §5400. That includes written notice under §5400 and, under §5402(a), knowledge of the injury held by a managing agent, superintendent, foreman or other person in authority, obtained from any source.

Do my medical records have to come from a workers’ comp doctor?

The statute says “the employee’s medical records, existing prior to the notice.” It does not limit them to workers’ comp providers. The records must contain evidence of the injury.

What if my layoff was announced but then delayed or cancelled?

A notice that is not followed by the termination or layoff within 60 days is not subject to paragraph (10). The rule would apply only after a later notice.

Is a stress or psychiatric claim handled the same way?

No. Psychiatric injuries are excluded from paragraph (10) and fall under §3208.3(e), which first requires proof that actual events of employment were predominant as to all causes combined, and then one of five conditions.

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Sources

• California Labor Code §3600
• California Labor Code §3208.3
• California Labor Code §5400
• California Labor Code §5402
• California Labor Code §5411
• California Labor Code §5412
• DWC, Information for Injured Workers

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