Workers' comp in California cities

Workers' compensation in Sacramento

By the Work Injury Compass editorial team · Last updated November 2026 · How we write and check guides

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The Sacramento district office

Sacramento district office (DWC / WCAB): 160 Promenade Circle, Suite 300, Sacramento, CA 95834-2962. Phone 916-928-3101. Official page: Sacramento district office.

According to DWC's office page, the court is on the 3rd floor, and the lobby opens at 8 a.m. five days a week. An on-site CHP officer patrols the office, and a security service patrols the parking lots. Sacramento Regional Transit buses serve the area. No food, gum or drinks (except bottled water if necessary) are allowed in the 3rd-floor hallways, lobbies or courtrooms, and children shouldn't be brought to court. Walk-throughs are accepted Monday to Friday, 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m.

Units here: Information & Assistance, the Disability Evaluation Unit, an Audit Unit, and the Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund and Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund units. The UEBTF pays benefits when an employer illegally had no insurance (see misclassification). The SIBTF can pay extra benefits to workers with a prior disability whose combined disability is high.

DWC's ZIP code list assigns all Sacramento County ZIP codes to this office. Venue for the Application for Adjudication can also be where you were injured or where your lawyer's principal office is (Labor Code §5501.5).

How hearings work

Since March 3, 2025, DWC holds status conferences, mandatory settlement conferences, priority conferences and lien conferences on a video platform, with each judge's virtual courtroom link on DWC's website and on the hearing notice. Trials, lien trials and expedited hearings are still set in person. Court is in session from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 5 p.m. DWC also lists free monthly video workshops for injured workers (first Friday in English, third Friday in Spanish, 3 p.m.). The office has an Information & Assistance (I&A) unit. I&A officers are DWC staff who answer questions and help workers without a lawyer for free; they can't represent you. The statewide line is 1-800-736-7401.

State employees

State government is a major employer in the Sacramento area, and state workers are covered by workers' comp like any other employees. What's different:

• Who handles the claim. State departments don't buy private insurance in the usual way, so your claim is managed by the claims administrator the state uses for your department. Your department's return-to-work or workers' comp coordinator can tell you who it is.
• Industrial Disability Leave (IDL). Many state employees receive IDL, which can pay more than standard temporary disability for a limited period, instead of regular TD. Ask your coordinator whether your bargaining unit is eligible.
• Office injuries count. Repetitive strain from computer work, back and neck problems from long hours, and falls in buildings and parking structures are all claimable. See cumulative trauma.
• Stress claims follow the strict psychiatric injury rules, including the exclusion for good-faith personnel actions (Labor Code §3208.3; see psychiatric injuries).

Public safety: CHP, corrections, CAL FIRE, police and fire

Sacramento is home to large numbers of CHP officers, corrections staff, state firefighters and local police and firefighters. Many have presumptions that certain conditions are work-related, such as heart trouble, cancer, PTSD and tuberculosis, which can last after retirement (see first responder presumptions). Local police and firefighters may receive full salary instead of TD for up to one year (Labor Code §4850), and similar rules exist for certain state safety employees (Labor Code §4800). For claims under most of these presumptions, the employer has 75 days, not 90, to deny (Labor Code §5402).

Health care, construction and distribution

• Hospitals and clinics: patient-handling back and shoulder injuries, needle-sticks and workplace violence.
• Construction, steady across the region: falls, struck-by injuries and heat.
• Distribution centers along I-5 and I-80 and near the airport: lifting, repetitive picking, forklifts and hot buildings. Cal/OSHA's indoor heat rule applies (tit. 8, §3396).
• Agriculture in the Delta and surrounding valley: heat, ladder falls and pesticide exposure.

Sacramento heat

Sacramento summers regularly bring triple-digit heat. Cal/OSHA's outdoor rule (tit. 8, §3395) requires shade when temperatures exceed 80°F and high-heat procedures at 95°F, including observation and pre-shift meetings. Heat exhaustion, heat stroke and heat-related kidney injury can all be work injuries. See heat illness and workers' comp.

Steps after a work injury in Sacramento

1. Tell your supervisor in writing; the deadline is 30 days (Labor Code §5400).
2. Complete and return the DWC-1 and keep a dated copy. State employees can get it from their department's coordinator.
3. Treat through your employer's MPN if it has one (choosing a doctor).
4. Track the 90-day (or 75-day) decision period (the 90-day rule).
5. Protect the one-year limit to file with the WCAB (§5405).
6. Get help from I&A on Promenade Circle, or use our Sacramento County attorney directory.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different. For free help from the state, call the DWC Information & Assistance unit at 1-800-736-7401.