Over the past few years, several former NFL players including Deion Sanders, Marshall Faulk and Michael Irvin have filed workers compensation claims in the state of California despite playing their careers outside of California. On September 9 the California legislature passed a bill intended to prevent these types of claims.
The bill, AB 1309, would prevent professional athletes who have played less than 20% of their career in California, or have played seven or more seasons outside of California, from filing workers compensation claims in the state of California. Under current law anyone who pays state taxes in California are eligible for workers compensation benefits. This includes professional athletes who play for teams outside of California, but do pay state tax when they play away games in California.
Supporters of the legislation, including the National Football League and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, claim that the legislation closes a loophole that is costing taxpayers money. “The state has a guarantee corporation, funded by taxpayers, that assumes responsibility for claims made and approved in the state, so out-of-state claims cause rates to be driven up for employers and taxpayers in the long run,” said Gary Toebben, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO.
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) and AFL-CIO feel that athletes who play games in California, regardless of whether they play for a California team, should be entitled to benefits because they pay California taxes for the games they do play. The NFLPA claims that professional athletes pay $300 million per year in California income tax. Former NFL player Mel Owens, a county attorney for NBO Law who represents at least 1,000 retired football players suing for workers compensation in the state, claims that professional athlete claims in the state cost “one-tenth of one percent” of total losses to the California comp system. “Calling the California workers compensation law a ‘loophole’ is a fallacy—anyone that has played in California and got hurt in California pays state taxes and is entitled to benefits here,” said Owens.
According to state workers compensation records, there have been more than 4,400 claims filed by professional athletes in the state of California.
Many of these are for head and neck injuries, with nearly 80% of them coming from former football players. By some estimates these claims could cost professional leagues as much as $1 billion to resolve. More than 2,300 of these claimants were also plaintiffs in the federal concussion lawsuit which the NFL recently settled for $765 million.
AB 1309 was passed by huge margins in both the California Assembly and Senate and is now on the desk of Governor Jerry Brown. The governor has until October 13 to sign or veto the bill.