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 temporaril