Lab. Code, § 3859 · Chapter 5. Subrogation of Employer
Lab. Code, § 3859
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a release or settlement of any claim under this chapter as to either the employee or the employer is not valid without the written consent of both. Proof of service filed with the court is sufficient in any action or proceeding where such approval is required by law.
(2) The written consent of the employer is not required in a claim that is subject to subdivision (b) of Section 3852.
(b) (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this chapter, an employee may settle and release any claim they may have against a third party without the consent of the employer. Except as provided in paragraph (2), a settlement or release shall be subject to the employer’s right to proceed to recover compensation they have paid in accordance with Section 3852.
(2) In any case governed by subdivision (b) of Section 3852, a settlement or release shall limit the employer’s claim for reimbursement to the portion of the settlement allocated to the employer pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 3852.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 763, Sec. 3. (SB 487) Effective January 1, 2026.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB§ionNum=3859.
- Text hash
- sha256 a1856052d579a1d3458e2cb85ec8d8fc646a772296c7e9e2c0bebdabfb5fa7de
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
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