Can an employer recover the amount expended by an employee who elects to claim workmen's compensation under the California Labor Code against a negligent third party?

The provisions of the Labor Code which provide for employer's ¹ subrogation (Lab.Code, 3850 et seq.) serve to bar double recovery by an employee who elects to claim benefits under the code and also seek compensation for his injuries from a negligent third party. (Corley v. Workmen's Comp. Appeals Bd., 22 Cal.App.3d 447, 99 Cal.Rptr. 242.) It has been repeatedly held that an employer who is obligated to pay workmen's compensation benefits to an employee injured by a negligent third party has three options available for recovering the amount so expended.