Is an employer required to notify an injured employee that they may be entitled to workmen's compensation benefits?

The Labor Code and the statutes of limitation relative to that code are to be liberally construed in favor of the protection of employees. (City of Fresno v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd., supra, 163 Cal.App.3d 467, 471, 209 Cal.Rptr. 463.)

The purpose of the rules and regulations as set forth in the relevant portions of the California Code of Regulations "is to protect and preserve the rights of an injured employee who may be ignorant of the procedures or, indeed, the very existence of the workmen's compensation law. Since the employer is generally in a better position to be aware of the employee's rights, it is proper that he should be charged with the responsibility of notifying the employee, under circumstances such as those existing here, that there is a possibility he may have a claim for workmen's compensation benefits." (Reynolds v. Workmen's Comp. Appeals Bd., supra, 12 Cal.3d 726, 729, 117 Cal.Rptr. 79, 527 P.2d 631.)

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