Authored by Sen. Arreguín, S.B. 632 would provide RNs equity in workers’ comp

Nurses across the Golden State applaud the California State Senate for voting in favor of Senate Bill (S.B.) 632, authored by Sen. Jesse Arreguín (SD-07) and sponsored by California Nurses Association (CNA). This bill would ensure that nurses and other health care workers are presumptively eligible for workers’ compensation for a variety of injuries and illnesses. Amidst a staffing crisis in the nursing profession, this legislation would help increase the retention of skilled nurses in California hospitals and reduce costly delays for hospital workers in receiving workers’ compensation benefits.

S.B. 632 now advances to the California State Assembly.

"By the nature of our profession caring for patients with contagious diseases, serious medical conditions, and injuries, RNs are at high risk of exposure to a variety of illnesses, workplace violence, trauma, and ongoing physical strain at work,” said Sandy Reding, RN and a president of CNA. “We deeply appreciate Sen. Arreguín’s for authoring S.B. 632 and are thrilled that the bill has moved out of the Senate. Our workers' compensation system should be set up to let us heal instead of wasting our time fighting for the medical and financial support we need. This is why we need presumptive eligibility."

“California has strong workers compensation rights for many of our brave first responders, yet nurses who have put their lives on the line do not receive the same benefits,” said Sen. Arreguín. “SB 632 aims to change that, and I am thankful to the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United for their advocacy, which has helped the bill advance to the Assembly. I look forward to working with stakeholders in ensuring that our essential healthcare workers get the protections they deserve.”

California is one of many states with laws that grant some firefighters and other first responders presumptive eligibility for workers’ compensation. However, nurses have no such protections, even though they suffer alarmingly high rates of injury and illness compared to workers overall. Workplace violence is on the rise for health care workers. According to a February 2024 survey by National Nurses United, eight in 10 nurses (81.6 percent) have experienced at least one type of workplace violence within the past year. Additionally, registered nurses experience 95 percent more work-related injuries and illnesses of all kinds than U.S. workers overall, with high rates of back injuries and high rates of exposure to infectious disease and other harmful substances. But nurses currently face the burden of proof to receive workers’ compensation for these injuries and illnesses instead of being presumed eligible. This bill would correct this unfair treatment.

As frontline health care workers, nurses face many of the same health risks as first-responder professions. Presumptive eligibility for workers’ compensation means that, if an employee sustains certain injuries or becomes infected with certain diseases, the injury or illness is presumed to be work-related and makes them automatically eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. This presumption shifts evidentiary burdens in the workers’ compensation process onto the employer to prove the ailment wasn’t work-related, eliminating unnecessary delays and administrative hurdles when nurses file workers’ compensation claims.

Passing this legislation would correct a gender disparity in California workers’ compensation system. Presumptive eligibility exists for certain male-dominated professions, such as firefighters and police officers. They are currently eligible for workers’ compensation presumptions for a whole host of conditions, including lower back pain, MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Nurses, however, do not have presumptive eligibility, despite the nearly 90 percent female profession experiencing many known hazards at work.

By aligning protections for hospital workers with those already provided to other first responders, this bill will remove unnecessary barriers in the workers’ compensation system and ensure that those who dedicate their lives to patient care receive the support they need to heal and return to work.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the nation with more than 100,000 members in more than 200 facilities throughout California and more than 225,000 RNs nationwide.