More than five million persons are employed in low-wage or underground-economy jobs in California. Many of these workers sustain injuries and illnesses because of the hazardous nature of their jobs. Typically, it has been difficult for community health centers, which serve as safety net providers, to treat patients with work-related injuries and illnesses. The health centers commonly see injured workers whose employers may be illegally uninsured for workers’ compensation, do not inform their employees about the right to receive workers’ compensation benefits, or do not arrange for injured employees to receive workers’ compensation medical care. In these situations, community health centers face major hurdles getting paid for services rendered.

UC Berkeley’s Labor Occupational Health Program has collaborated with the Watsonville Law Center to develop a model set of tools and instructions to help community health centers create a financially sustainable program to treat patients with work-related injuries and illnesses.