"Whose bright idea was that!?" (Even more from Tales of the Great Unpacking)

As the days go by, I've occasionally been reminded why I was willing to leave California for the desert in 2002. Today was one of those days.

I stopped by my new insurance agent's office this afternoon to review my homeowner's policy with him as well as discussing getting our auto policy converted over from Arizona. And there it was, one of those absolutely ridiculous kinds of things that can only come from the delusional mind of a state law-maker...

Under Section III, so-called "Optional coverages applied," though according to the agent it is mandatory by state-law and built-in to the basic homeowner's policy, is this fun little surprise:

Workers Compensation and Employers Liability

Caught off guard, I asked the agent for clarification. The answer I got stupefied me, and in fact six hours later, still stupefies me.

By state-law, anybody I "hire" or contract with to come onto/into the premises to work (landscaping, housecleaning, etc.) is entitled to make a worker's compensation claim in case of injury under my home-owner's coverage as if I were their employer and my home were there regular place of work. Never minding, that they would have been hired as, essentially, contractors in business for themselves.

Now, I will not pay a huge amount for this but then that is most certainly not the point. Only in Sacramento can someone think that an independent contractor working on a client's premises is an employee of that client and thus entitled to state benefits.

Absurd.