If I suspect an employee is lying about their workplace injury, must I still process their workers’ compensation claim?

Yes. California Labor Code Section 5401 requires an employer to provide its employees with the workers’ compensation claim form (DWC-1) within one working day from the time the employer receives notice or knowledge of an injury that results in lost time from work, or requires more medical treatment than first aid.

As a result, if an employee tells you that he or she was injured at work, you must provide the employee with the claim form.

You can, however, pass on any information you received to your insurance carrier and the insurance company has up to 90 days to investigate the claim to determine whether it arose