Injured at a Work Party or Off-Site Event? You Might Still Qualify for Workers' Comp in California
🎉 Off the Clock, Still Covered? When Work Events, Parties & Social Activities Qualify for Workers’ Compensation in California
Injured at your boss’s Fourth of July party? Slipped at the office Christmas party? Hurt while sliding into second base at your company’s softball game?
You might assume you’re out of luck if you weren’t “on the clock.” But under California Workers’ Compensation law, these off-duty or social injuries can sometimes still be covered.
⚖️ California Law: When Social or Recreational Injuries Are NOT Automatically Excluded
Under California Labor Code §3600(a)(9), injuries from voluntary social, recreational, or athletic activities—like company parties, sports games, or holiday events—are usually excluded from Workers’ Comp coverage.
But there’s an important exception.
That’s where the “Izzy Test” comes in.
✅ The Two-Part “Izzy Test”
Courts have created a two-part legal test to decide whether an off-duty or recreational activity should still be considered “work-related” for the purposes of workers' compensation:
Did you subjectively believe you were expected or required to attend the event?
Was that belief objectively reasonable?
If both parts are satisfied, your injury may be compensable—even if you weren’t officially on the clock or getting paid.
This legal framework, commonly known as the “Izzy Test,” has become the standard in evaluating workplace-related injuries that occur in informal or social settings.
📚 Real-World Examples
Let’s break down how this applies in the real world:
🎆 1. Injured at a Fourth of July Party at Your Boss’s House
You weren’t required to go—but your boss hosted it, everyone from your team was there, and you knew it was a chance to build rapport and position yourself well for future opportunities.
You felt professionally obligated to show up.
If a judge agrees that your belief was reasonable, your injury may be compensable under the Izzy Test, even though it happened off-site and off-hours.
🎄 2. Slipped at the Company Christmas Party (Alcohol Involved)
Holiday parties often involve alcohol, which complicates things. Typically, alcohol-related injuries are not covered—but that changes if your employer provided the alcohol.
If:
The party was employer-sponsored
You felt expected to attend
And the injury stemmed from circumstances created by the employer (like alcohol)
Then the Izzy Test may apply, and you might still be eligible for Workers’ Comp.
⚾ 3. Hurt at the Company Softball Game
What seems like a fun, optional event may carry workplace pressure. If supervisors organized the event, encouraged attendance, and participation was seen as part of “being a team player,” that builds a case that your participation was reasonably expected.
If you slid into base and broke your ankle, don’t assume you’re out of luck.
🥂 4. Injured at a Sales Conference or Client Dinner
If you’re in a profession that involves traveling to conferences, meeting with clients, or hosting dinners, you're generally covered—even outside traditional work hours.
California’s “commercial traveler doctrine” says that if you’re traveling for work, almost everything you do reasonably connected to your job is covered, unless you’re on a purely personal detour.
So if you're:
Meeting a client for dinner
Walking between conference venues
Returning to your hotel after a work mixer
…and you get injured, you’re still considered within the course and scope of your employment.
🚨 Bottom Line: Don’t Let an Employer Tell You “It Was Off the Clock”
Workers' Compensation law in California is more protective than most people realize.
Even if you weren’t:
On the clock
Getting paid for the event
At your regular workplace
…you might still be covered.
The key is proving that your attendance was reasonably expected or required—something that an experienced attorney can help you establish.
👨⚖️ Call Lee Partners Law — Certified Workers’ Comp Specialists
We’re David A. Lee and Michael Lee, Certified Specialists in California Workers’ Compensation Law.
We used to work on the other side—defending insurance companies. Now, we use that insider knowledge to fight for injured workers just like you.
Whether your claim is denied, delayed, or disputed because you weren’t “on the clock,” we know how to get around that defense and prove you deserve full benefits.
✅ No fee unless we win
✅ Free consultations
✅ Board-Certified Experts in Workers’ Compensation Law
Know your rights. Even off the clock.
Contact Lee Partners Law for a Free Consult Today: (310)-295-0822 CALL OR TEXT.
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