California Workers’ Compensation and Employment Law Crossover: Settling Civil, Employment, and Workers’ Compensation Cases, in a Single Settlement Agreement

DAVID SKAGGS, ESQ.

Thousand Oaks, California

Note: This article does not discuss the workers’ compensation device known as a third-party compromise and release, whereby a defendant other than the employer is ultimately liable for some to all of an employee’s injuries/losses. The article focuses instead on an employer’s liability that simultaneously arises under both workers’ compensation (that is, administrative) and civil employment laws.

What happens when litigants intend to resolve civil, employment, and workers’ compensation cases in a single document? Are release agreements made in one jurisdiction enforceable in the other?