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Do restaurants need workers comp in California?

Published 2026-10-06 by Insurance City Agency, LLC, CA License #6003045. Leer en español

Yes. A California restaurant needs workers compensation as soon as it employs anyone, including one part-time dishwasher. California Labor Code section 3700 is that duty. The old single class 9079(1) does not apply to a policy that starts on or after September 1, 2024. This page is only the compensation filing. The broader restaurant program is the restaurant insurance checklist.

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Do restaurants need workers comp in California?

The duty is the employment. An owner who cooks alone, with no employee, is not an employer of someone else under section 3700. A line cook, a cashier, or a relative on the payroll is. City guides for the whole restaurant account remain Stockton, Modesto, and Fresno. Those pages are not a substitute for the class split below.

Which workers comp class replaced 9079 for California restaurants?

According to the WCIRB page on the 9079(1) split, policies incepting on or after September 1, 2024 move restaurant and tavern operations into six classifications. 9080 is a full-service restaurant: guests are greeted, seated, and served at the table, and payment is collected at the end. 9083 is fast food or fast casual: the guest orders at a counter, a window, a kiosk, or an app, pays when ordering, and sits themselves if they stay. Limited table service, such as bringing a paid order to the table, can still be 9083. 9081(1) is restaurants not otherwise classified, and WCIRB names hot-food departments inside grocery stores and food trucks that cook hot food. 9084 is a bar or tavern that is not a restaurant, on ABC license types 42, 48, or 61. 9082 is a caterer that does not keep a dining room. 9058 is food and beverage employees of a hotel or motel.

A burn from the plancha, a slicer cut, and a slip on a greasy mat are the injuries these classes exist to separate. An outside app-based delivery network that delivers the restaurant's meals for a fee is classification 7198(1), not the restaurant's payroll. A brewery's kettle is a different test, written on the brewery and taproom page. This page does not reprint a pure premium rate. WCIRB said the six new classes share one advisory pure premium rate until enough data exists to separate them, and that experience modifications are not immediately changed by the reassignment while that is true.

What changes the restaurant compensation filing, with no dollar figure?

Payroll is the exposure base. So is which of the six classes the audit assigns, which follows how the guest orders and whether alcohol is the business. A prior kitchen claim changes the experience modification when the employer is eligible for one. Tips, cash payroll that was left off the books, and a leased employee all have to be on the records the auditor can read. None of that is a price, and this page will not print one.

Compensation is never inside a business owner's package. Liability for a guest who slips, liquor liability, and property for the hood and the coolers are the checklist, not this filing. The product page is workers compensation.

What should a restaurant send with the quote form?

Send the payroll, whether service is at the table or at a counter, whether there is an ABC license, and the loss run if one exists. Insurance City Agency, LLC reads that packet on the quote form.

Frequently asked questions

Do restaurants need workers comp in California?

Yes, from the first employee, under Labor Code section 3700. A sole owner with no employees is not an employer of someone else.

What happened to WCIRB class 9079 for restaurants?

For policies starting on or after September 1, 2024, WCIRB replaced 9079(1) with 9080 full service, 9083 fast food or fast casual, 9081(1) restaurants not otherwise classified, 9084 bars, 9082 caterers, and 9058 hotel food employees.

Does a business owner's policy include restaurant workers comp?

No. Compensation is a separate policy. The restaurant checklist covers liability, liquor, and property.

Sources

• Labor Code section 3700. Checked October 6, 2026.
• WCIRB, classification 9079(1) divided into six classifications. Effective for policies incepting on or after September 1, 2024. No pure premium rate is reprinted.

Related

• Restaurants, bars, and food
• Restaurant insurance in Stockton
• Modesto
• Fresno
• Restaurant insurance checklist
• Aseguranza de restaurante en Stockton

Insurance City Agency, LLC. Reviewed by Santo Militello, California-licensed Property & Casualty agent (CA License #1737723) and owner of Via Rapida Services — CA Insurance License #6003045. Our licensed team brings more than 70 years of combined insurance experience. Phone (209) 670-1556. Insurance City, 956 W Robinhood Dr, Stockton, CA 95207. Last reviewed 2026-10-06.