Did work play an “active” or “passive” role in developing the stress condition?
California law requires that work play an “active role” in the development of the psychological condition in order to have a compensable injury. Labor Code 3600(a)(6) requires “the employment itself must be a ‘positive’ factor influencing the course of the disease.” (See also Georgia Pacific Corp v. WCAB (Byrne) 144 CA3d 72 (1983) 48CCC443.) Moreover, a medical report which does not state specifically how the employment has influenced the development of the alleged stress condition is insufficient, especially when the physician admits he/she does not know of any specific employment role (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp v. WCAB [Conway], 1983, 141 CA3d 778). Where the alleged employment stress was found to be simply a product of the employee’s underlying psychiatric problem projecting itself upon his/her employment environment, no compensable injury was found (Hanna v. WCAB, 1980, 45CCC1174). 4. How long was the employee working for the acupuncture practice? A short-term employee may fi
