How long, and from what
- 60 calendar daysTermination or layoff follows the noticefrom notice of termination or layoff · Lab. Code § 3600(a)(10)
Enter the dates you have. The check shows which parts of § 3600(a)(10) the dates decide. Conditions (A) and (B) — the employer knew before the notice, medical records before the notice show the injury — are proved with evidence, not dates.
Enter the date of the notice.
What the statute says
Lab. Code § 3600(a)(10)
“A notice of termination or layoff that is not followed within 60 days by that termination or layoff shall not be subject to the provisions of this paragraph”
Full text of Labor Code § 3600
(a) Liability for the compensation provided by this division, in lieu of any other liability whatsoever to any person except as otherwise specifically provided in Sections 3602, 3706, and 4558, shall, without regard to negligence, exist against an employer for any injury sustained by his or her employees arising out of and in the course of the employment and for the death of any employee if the injury proximately causes death, in those cases where the following conditions of compensation concur: (1) Where, at the time of the injury, both the employer and the employee are subject to the compensation provisions of this division. (2) Where, at the time of the injury, the employee is performing service growing out of and incidental to his or her employment and is acting within the course of his or her employment. (3) Where the injury is proximately caused by the employment, either with or without negligence. (4) Where the injury is not caused by the intoxication, by alcohol or the unlawful use of a controlled substance, of the injured employee. As used in this paragraph, “controlled substance” shall have the same meaning as prescribed in Section 11007 of the Health and Safety Code. (5) Where the injury is not intentionally self-inflicted. (6) Where the employee has not willfully and deliberately caused his or her own death. (7) Where the injury does not arise out of an altercation in which the injured employee is the initial physical aggressor. (8) Where the injury is not caused by the commission of a felony, or a crime which is punishable as specified in subdivision (b) of Section 17 of the Penal Code, by the injured employee, for which he or she has been convicted. (9) Where the injury does not arise out of voluntary participation in any off-duty recreational, social, or athletic activity not constituting part of the employee’s work-related duties, except where these activities are a reasonable expectancy of, or are expressly or impliedly required by, the employment. The administrative director shall promulgate reasonable rules and regulations requiring employers to post and keep posted in a conspicuous place or places a notice advising employees of the provisions of this subdivision. Failure of the employer to post the notice shall not constitute an expression of intent to waive the provisions of this subdivision. (10) Except for psychiatric injuries governed by subdivision (e) of Section 3208.3, where the claim for compensation is filed after notice of termination or layoff, including voluntary layoff, and the claim is for an injury occurring prior to the time of notice of termination or layoff, no compensation shall be paid unless the employee demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that one or more of the following conditions apply: (A) The employer has notice of the injury, as provided under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 5400), prior to the notice of termination or layoff. (B) The employee’s medical records, existing prior to the notice of termination or layoff, contain evidence of the injury. (C) The date of injury, as specified in Section 5411, is subsequent to the date of the notice of termination or layoff, but prior to the effective date of the termination or layoff. (D) The date of injury, as specified in Section 5412, is subsequent to the date of the notice of termination or layoff. For purposes of this paragraph, an employee provided notice pursuant to Sections 44948.5, 44949, 44951, 44955, 72411, 87740, and 87743 of the Education Code shall be considered to have been provided a notice of termination or layoff only upon a district’s final decision not to reemploy that person. A notice of termination or layoff that is not followed within 60 days by that termination or layoff shall not be subject to the provisions of this paragraph, and this paragraph shall not apply until receipt of a later notice of termination or layoff. The issuance of frequent notices of termination or layoff to an employee shall be considered a bad faith personnel action and shall make this paragraph inapplicable to the employee. (b) Where an employee, or his or her dependents, receives the compensation provided by this division and secures a judgment for, or settlement of, civil damages pursuant to those specific exemptions to the employee’s exclusive remedy set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 3602 and Section 4558, the compensation paid under this division shall be credited against the judgment or settlement, and the employer shall be relieved from the obligation to pay further compensation to, or on behalf of, the employee or his or her dependents up to the net amount of the judgment or settlement received by the employee or his or her heirs, or that portion of the judgment as has been satisfied. (c) For purposes of determining whether to grant or deny a workers’ compensation claim, if an employee is injured or killed by a third party in the course of the employee’s employment, no personal relationship or personal connection shall be deemed to exist between the employee and the third party based only on a determination that the third party injured or killed the employee solely because of the third party’s personal beliefs relating to his or her perception of the employee’s race, religious creed, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.
§ 3600 on SimilarCase →Official text · leginfo.legislature.ca.gov →
How the days are counted
8 CCR § 10600(a)
“is computed by excluding the first day and including the last”
None of these deadlines is a WCAB filing, so the calculator keeps a last day that falls on a weekend and says so.
When it passes — and when it moves
If none of the four conditions is shown, § 3600(a)(10) says no compensation is paid for that injury.
Each condition has to be shown by a preponderance of the evidence; dates alone decide only (C) and (D). A notice not followed by the termination within 60 days does not count, frequent notices make the rule inapplicable, and psychiatric injuries follow § 3208.3(e) instead.
What the Appeals Board said about this deadline
Newest released decisions whose stated standard names § 3600, each with the passage it turned on and the official PDF. Litigated tail, not a count of how often the deadline is missed.
- ADJ13520237 · 2026-07-28 · Los Angeles District Office§ 3600
Determinative passage · p.163. Applicant’s claim for benefits is not barred by Labor Code section 3600(a)(10).
Defendant failed to meet burden as date of injury is after termination.
Official decision · page 16 → - ADJ12378634 · 2026-03-05 · Los Angeles District Office§ 3600
Determinative passage · p.5Further, the WCJ concluded that applicant did not fall under any of the exceptions listed under section 3600(a)(10). As relevant here, section 3600(a)(10) states, that:
Defendant failed to prove termination date and post-termination exceptions; date of injury must be determined before applying section 3600(a)(10).
Official decision · page 5 → - ADJ17764448 · 2026-02-13 · Riverside District Office§ 3600
Determinative passage · p.1A workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) issued a Findings and Orders in this matter served on December 15, 2025. In the decision, it was found that applicant's claim that while employed on July 13, 2022, as an HVAC technician, he sustained industrial injury to his neck, back and "body systems, specifically stress and anxiety" was barred by the Labor Code section 3600(a)(10) post-termination defense, which states, in pertinent part:
The defense bars compensation unless the employee shows employer had notice of injury prior to termination or other specified conditions.
Official decision · page 1 → - ADJ13384253 · 2026-02-09 · Los Angeles District Office§ 3600
Determinative passage · p.7In this regard, we have explained that the date of injury in this case is July 6, 2020. The record also shows that applicant was terminated on May 13, 2020. (Ex. J, Notice of Separation dated May 13, 2020, p. 1.) Since applicant's injury was subsequent to her termination, we concur with the WCJ that the post-termination defense is inapplicable under section 3600(a)(10)(D). (Report, pp. 1-2.)
Applied to reject post-termination defense as injury date was after termination
Official decision · page 7 → - ADJ19392643 · 2026-01-30 · Anaheim District Office§ 3600
Determinative passage · p.4III. We highlight the following legal principles that may be relevant to our review of this matter: Section 3600(a)(10) states, that: Except for psychiatric injuries governed by subdivision (e) of Section 3208.3, where the claim for compensation is filed after notice of termination or layoff, including voluntary layoff, and the claim is for an injury occurring prior to the time of notice of termination or layoff, no compensation shall be paid unless the employee demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that one or more of the following conditions apply: (A) The employer has notice of the injury, as provided under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 5400), prior to the notice of termination or layoff. (B) The employee's medical records, existing prior to the notice of termination or layoff, contain evidence of the injury. (C) The date of injury, as specified in Section 5411, is subsequent to the date of the notice of termination or layoff, but prior to the effective date of the termination or layoff. (D) The date of injury, as specified in Section 5412, is subsequent to the date of the notice of termination or layoff. (Lab.
Sets conditions under which compensation is barred post-termination unless certain criteria are met.
Official decision · page 4 → - ADJ1341476 · 2025-08-05 · Los Angeles District Office§ 3600
Determinative passage · p.4(Lab. Code, § 3600(10), bold added.)2 Therefore, defendant held the initial burden to establish its "post-termination defense" to
The defense and its exceptions were analyzed in the decision.
Official decision · page 4 → - ADJ11199891 · 2024-10-07 · Oakland District Office§ 3600
Determinative passage · p.3...[W]here the claim for compensation is filed after notice of termination or layoff, including voluntary layoff, and the claim is for an injury occurring prior to the time of notice of termination or layoff, no compensation shall be paid unless the employee demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that one or more of the following conditions apply:
Defendant proved termination date and claim filing date; applicant failed to prove employer had prior notice of injury.
Official decision · page 3 → - ADJ17793590 · 2024-09-23 · San Francisco District Office§ 3600
Determinative passage · p.7Defendant did not establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, as required, that "the claim for compensation was filed after a notice of termination or layoff, including voluntary layoff, and that the claim is for an injury occurring prior to the time of notice of termination or layoff." (Lab. Code, § 3600(a)(10), 3202.5, 5705.) Thus, there is no adequate evidence to support the finding that applicant was terminated, and no adequate evidence that applicant's claim is barred by the post-termination defense. Once the defendant has made the initial showing necessary to a post-termination defense, the burden shifts to applicant to establish one of the available exceptions listed in section 3600, subdivisions (a)(10)(A) through (D). Here, although defendant failed to make the required initial showing, applicant has demonstrated that an exception to the compensation bar, in section 3600, subdivision (a)(10)(A),
Defendant failed to meet its burden to prove post-termination defense; record development deferred to determine applicability.
Official decision · page 7 →
Forms and where to file
Official forms reprinted from DWC, by number
Also on this
Questions about this deadline
Can I file a workers’ comp claim after being fired in California?
Yes, but when the claim is filed after a notice of termination or layoff for an injury before it, § 3600(a)(10) requires one of four conditions: prior notice to the employer, prior medical records, a specific injury between notice and termination, or a cumulative injury date after the notice.
Does a layoff notice always trigger the post-termination rule?
No. A notice not followed within 60 days by the termination or layoff does not count, frequent notices are treated as a bad-faith personnel action, and the rule does not apply to psychiatric injuries governed by § 3208.3(e).