Can I get workers' comp for stress or anxiety in California?

Yes, but the threshold is higher than for physical injuries. Labor Code section 3208.3 requires a diagnosed psychiatric condition in which actual events of employment were the predominant cause, more than half, and generally six months of employment; injuries caused by lawful, good-faith personnel actions are not compensable.

California compensates psychiatric injury, but Labor Code section 3208.3 erects gates that physical claims do not face. The worker must have a diagnosed mental disorder causing disability or the need for treatment, and must show that actual events of employment, not perceptions or non-work stressors, were the predominant cause, meaning more than 50 percent, of the condition. Six months of employment is generally required, waived when the injury is caused by a sudden and extraordinary employment event. The most litigated defense follows: conditions substantially caused by lawful, nondiscriminatory, good-faith personnel actions (criticism, discipline, transfers, terminations done properly) are not compensable, placing routine management decisions outside the system. Claims filed after notice of termination face additional restrictions under section 3208.3(e). For workers who are victims of a violent event at work, the causation threshold drops to a substantial cause standard. Psychiatric injury can also ride alongside a physical injury claim, though permanent disability add-ons for that route are limited by Labor Code section 4660.1.

Authority: Cal. Lab. Code § 3208.3