California excavation workers comp splits land grading crews by wage: the 6218 classifications below $45.00 an hour and the 6220 classifications at or above it, for policies from September 1, 2026. Grading on street or road jobs has its own published title, 5507. Each worker's regular hourly rate, the job itself and the carrier's determination decide where payroll is reported.
Earthmoving in California is licensed by the CSLB, usually under C-12 Earthwork and Paving or, on broader site and public projects, A General Engineering. Either license needs workers comp from the first hire. A licensee who works alone can still file a no-employee exemption, scheduled to close on January 1, 2028, a date a CSLB proposal to keep a slimmer exemption could change. Which license classes already have no exemption is spelled out in the California contractor workers comp rules.
| Rule | What It Means for an Earthmoving Contractor | Source |
|---|---|---|
| First employee | Coverage is required once one person is on payroll, whether that person runs a dozer, sets grade stakes or shovels. | CSLB |
| No-employee exemption | C-12 and A licensees with no employees can file one today; it is set to end on January 1, 2028. | Business and Professions Code 7125 |
| False exemption or uncovered workers | Each violation carries a minimum civil penalty of $10,000 for a sole owner licensee or $20,000 for a partnership, corporation or LLC (SB 291). | Business and Professions Code 7125.4 |
| Unlicensed operators | Someone running equipment on licensed earthwork for you, with no license in their own name, is presumed to be your employee. | Labor Code 2750.5 |
| Wage split | Excavation and land grading payroll divides at $45.00 an hour for policies from September 1, 2026. | WCIRB |
Corporate officers, general partners and LLC managing members each have their own waiver rules. Read what a waiver gives up, then confirm the choice with the carrier. Crews that also work across the state line answer to different rules, set out in Arizona grading workers comp and Nevada grading workers comp.
The panel lists three published classifications that mention earthmoving. 6218 and 6220 are a wage-split pair, and each has three numbered parts: general digging with fill brought in or hauled out, grading land, and leveling farm ground. 6218 takes payroll for people paid under $45.00 an hour and 6220 for people paid that rate or more. 5507 is a separate title for street or road grading, with no wage line in its wording. Other trades' wage-split pairs are listed in California workers comp classifications by trade.
$45.00 an hour is the line between these published classifications
Published classifications that mention this work
Trenching for sewer, water or gas mains may fall under other published classifications this panel doesn't list, and the asphalt that follows a road grade has its own title on California paving workers comp insurance. The fit turns on what each person does on the job and on the carrier's determination; we don't assign or confirm codes.
Illustrative scenario
A grading contractor runs two excavator and dozer operators paid above $45.00 an hour and three laborers paid below it. It cuts subdivision pads in spring and widens a county road in fall. With hourly and job records, the pad work would typically be reported under the land grading parts of 6220 for the operators and 6218 for the laborers, while the road job's grading may go under 5507, as the carrier determines. Move this crew to Arizona or Nevada and the example falls apart: neither state uses California's titles or its wage line.
Leaving Haulers Out of the Payroll Estimate
Excavation contractors often pay owner-operator haulers by the load and leave those payments out of reported payroll. If a hauler has no workers comp certificate on file, the auditor may count what you paid, and the bill arrives after the policy year. Collect a certificate before the first load.
Workers comp is about your own crew getting hurt. A cut utility line, a neighbor's wall damaged by a slope failure, a dump truck crash or a stolen excavator is usually a matter for general liability, commercial auto or an equipment floater. The excavation workers comp insurance page compares how Arizona and Nevada handle the same crew, and California concrete workers comp insurance explains the crews who pour after you grade.
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It turns on that operator's regular hourly wage. For policies from September 1, 2026, the published excavation and land grading titles put pay under $45.00 an hour in 6218 and pay at or above it in 6220. The work itself still has to fit those titles, and the carrier makes the final determination; we don't assign codes.
Not necessarily. California publishes 5507 for grading on street or road construction and lists land grading as a numbered part of 6218 and 6220. Keep hours by job so the audit can see which kind of grading each person did; the carrier decides which title applies.
Not yet, if you hold a C-12 or A license and file the CSLB's no-employee exemption. The exemption has a scheduled end of January 1, 2028, which CSLB proposals could still alter. Hiring even one laborer ends it, and a false exemption carries a minimum penalty of $10,000 per violation for a sole owner.
A hauler with a workers comp certificate of their own typically stays out of your payroll. Without one, the auditor may add what you paid. If a person you pay does licensed earthwork without a contractor license, Labor Code 2750.5 presumes they are your employee.
The published titles compare the regular hourly wage, so overtime hours alone don't move a person across $45.00. Overtime still matters: the premium portion is excluded from reportable payroll only when your books keep it separate from straight-time wages.
Sometimes not. Trenching for sewer, water or gas mains may fall under other published classifications this panel doesn't list. Describe the trench work and who lays the pipe when you ask for a quote; the carrier determines the classification.
9 official sources
Reviewed by David Gleason, Principal, on .
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California excavation and grading workers comp, from the wage line to the haulers.
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