As it applies to the California Workers Compensation system:

ARTICLE XIV LABOR RELATIONS
SEC. 4. The Legislature is hereby expressly vested with plenary power, unlimited by any provision of this Constitution, to create, and enforce a complete system of workers' compensation, by appropriate legislation, and in that behalf to create and enforce a liability on the part of any or all persons to compensate any or all of their workers for injury or disability, and their dependents for death incurred or sustained by the said workers in the course of their employment, irrespective of the fault of any party.

A complete system of workers' compensation includes adequate provisions for the comfort, health and safety and general welfare of any and all workers and those dependent upon them for support to the extent of relieving from the consequences of any injury or death incurred or sustained by workers in the course of their employment, irrespective of the fault of any party; also full provision for securing safety in places of employment; full provision for such medical, surgical, hospital and other remedial treatment as is requisite to cure and relieve from the effects of such injury; full provision for adequate insurance coverage against liability to pay or furnish compensation;full provision for regulating such insurance coverage in all its aspects, including the establishment and management of a state compensation insurance fund; full provision for otherwise securing the payment of compensation; and full provision for vesting power, authority and jurisdiction in an administrative body with all the requisite governmental functions to determine any dispute or matter arising under such legislation, to the end that the administration of such legislation shall accomplish substantial justice in all cases expeditiously, inexpensively, and without incumbrance of any character; all of which matters are expressly declared to be the social public policy of this State, binding upon all departments of the State government.

The Legislature is vested with plenary powers, to provide for the settlement of any disputes arising under such legislation by arbitration, or by an industrial accident commission, by the courts, or by either, any, or all of these agencies, either separately or in combination, and may fix and control the method and manner of trial of any such dispute, the rules of evidence and the manner of review of decisions rendered by the tribunal or tribunals designated by it; provided, that all decisions of any such tribunal shall be subject to review by the appellate court of this State. The Legislature may combine in one statute all the provisions for a complete system of workers' compensation, as herein defined.

The Legislature shall have power to provide for the payment of an award to the state in the case of the death, arising out of and in the course of the employment, of an employee without dependents, and such awards may be used for the payment of extra compensation for subsequent injuries beyond the liability of a single employer for awards to employees of the employer.

Nothing contained herein shall be taken or construed to impair or render ineffectual in any measure the creation and existence of the industrial accident commission of this State or the State compensation insurance fund, the creation and existence of which, with all the functions vested in them, are hereby ratified and confirmed.

Does What The Law Prescribes Above, In Any Way Resemble What Injured Workers Have Available To Them Today?
I didn't think you would agree with me either!

Sounds Simple Enough Doesn't It?
Sometimes the most simple of things can turn out to be so terribly complex. The State Constitution specifies what can and cannot happen in this sorely needed benefits delivery system. But how it happens, that's the big question mark. And how it is administered, that's another big question mark too.

So What Happened to Our Protection?
Over the past several years, the California Chamber of Commerce instituted a major political campaign that harnessed the power of its enormous membership base. This campaign flooded legislators offices with complaints from small business owners and non-profit organizations and saturated both print and broadcast media with stories of skyrocketing workers' compensation insurance rates.

Through this campaign, the Chamber was able to fool the press, the public, and policymakers that there was a "crisis" that could be solved only by adopting massive take-aways of injured workers' rights and benefits. Most legislators reported receiving hundreds of phone calls, letters, and personal visits from small business owners who insisted that there must be immediate and substantial rate relief. Then end result was the virtually unanimous approval of what is the worst workers' compensation bill in the 90 year history of workers' compensation in California, and the worst piece of legislation ever passed in the history of the State of California.

So, while the California Constitution protects the Workers' Compensation System, that does not mean it isn't vulnerable to attack and creative interpretation by those wishing to dismantle it. In 2003, the employer-financed ballot initiative, backed by Governor Schwarzenegger and used to force the changes in SB 899, would have altered the constitution and weakened worker protections while taking away the Legislature's ability to fix it. And they are planning to do it again if we don't stop them.