Our History
For more than 100 years, we've served California as a strong, stable provider of workers' compensation insurance. Established in 1914 by the state legislature, we're a vital asset to California businesses and employees; our history parallels the dynamic, influential, and innovative history of California itself.
1910s: California adopts the Roseberry Act and the Boynton Act, leading to our creation. We open in 1914 in San Francisco.
*Photo taken in 1914 shows State Fund’s original staff.
1920s: We continue to grow, insuring many of California's top employers. The Legislature creates regulatory agencies to help worker safety.
*Photo of a newspaper report on a fatal mine accident.
1930s: We survive significant financial challenges during the Great Depression.
*A street vendor sells apples on the sidewalk during the Great Depression.
1940s: We weather the war years with management changes, gasoline rationing, and an electricity shortage impacting business.
*Men line up to sign in for rationed gasoline, crica 1942.
1950s: The post-war economic boom helps spur us to open new offices throughout the state.
*State Fund employees work on mainframe computers, circa 1955.
1960s: We move into a larger main office in San Francisco and shift the organization to corporate working titles.
*Survivors of massive flooding on the north coast leave a row boat, circa 1964.
1970s: Technology enters more of the day-to-day business processes. Inflation and new state rules create financial challenges for us.
*Newspaper article about the gunman who held an employee hostage, crica 1979.
1980s: Soft tissue claims like carpal tunnel syndrome gain prominence as compensable injuries. We celebrate our 75th anniversary in 1989.
*A seismic chart of the Loma Prieta Earthquake, circa 1989.
1990s: The state enacts open rating, kicking off intense competition among private insurers. An attempt to privatize our organization fails after businesses oppose the plan.
*California State Capitol Building.
2000s: The state passes reforms to stabilize the workers' compensation insurance industry. We open a new "green" campus in Vacaville.
*The Vacaville campus from the air, crica 2008.
2010s: Major reforms further stabilize the workers' compensation industry. We create an outcomes-based medical provider network and also celebrate our centennial.
*State Fund centennial logo.