NFI Perris Warehouse Workers: Protecting a California Workers’ Compensation Claim Before a Layoff

NFI publicly described the large distribution center at 3700 Indian Avenue in Perris, and Gildan has publicly discussed optimizing distribution capacity as part of its HanesBrands integration. Those company sources provide context for workers reviewing their records during an integration, but they do not confirm that the Perris facility will close, that a layoff will occur, or that a particular date or workforce count applies.

NFI’s 2009 announcement described the Perris site as a roughly 1.3-million-square-foot Hanesbrands distribution center. It opened with 120 jobs, and NFI expected staffing to exceed 350. Those historical figures describe the facility at opening and should not be treated as a current headcount.

In its July 30, 2026 results release, Gildan said it was optimizing distribution capacity as part of the HanesBrands integration. The release does not identify Perris as a facility scheduled to close.

Those facts support concern about a substantial transition. They do not prove that every position will end, identify every worker’s legal employer, or establish that any employee has a workers’ compensation claim. A worker’s own employment records, injury reports, medical evidence, and claim documents remain essential.

What workers with job-related symptoms can do now

Before any layoff, transfer, or site transition disperses records and coworkers, a worker who genuinely believes that work caused or aggravated an injury should consider these steps:

1. Report the symptoms accurately and in writing. Identify the affected body parts, actual job duties, approximate period of exposure, symptom progression, and any earlier oral reports or treatment.
2. Request and submit a DWC-1 claim form. Complete the employee section, keep a copy, and preserve proof of delivery.
3. Obtain an appropriate medical evaluation. Tell the provider what work was performed and when symptoms, disability, restrictions, or lost time began.
4. Preserve lawful records. Keep paystubs, W-2s, schedules, job descriptions, injury reports, medical records, restrictions, claim correspondence, and the closure or layoff notice.
5. Identify the employer shown on the records. Do not assume that a building sign, badge, or uniform identifies the legally responsible employer.
6. Keep a truthful chronology. Record when symptoms began, when they were reported, when treatment occurred, when work changed, and when any layoff notice arrived.

Do not invent a single accident date for a condition that developed gradually. Do not remove trade secrets, customer data, personnel files, or documents the worker is not entitled to possess.

Warehouse injuries may develop without one accident

California Labor Code section 3208.1 recognizes two broad forms of injury: a specific injury caused by one incident or exposure, and a cumulative injury caused by repetitive mentally or physically traumatic activities over time. The combined effect must cause disability or a need for medical treatment, and the injury must arise out of and occur in the course of employment.

Warehouse exposures may include repeated lifting, pushing, pulling, bending, reaching, packing, scanning, gripping, pallet work, powered-equipment vibration, prolonged standing, and continuous noise. Symptoms may affect the back, neck, shoulders, hands, wrists, elbows, knees, feet, or hearing.

Pain alone is not a legal conclusion, but genuine symptoms should be reported and evaluated rather than dismissed because no single accident occurred. Diagnosis and work causation require medical evidence. A property listing, layoff, or workplace transition does not itself create an injury.

Report the injury and open the claim

California’s Division of Workers’ Compensation advises employees to report an injury that developed over time as soon as they learn or believe it was caused by work. Written notice is safer than relying on an undocumented conversation.

Ask the employer for a DWC-1 claim form. Complete the employee section, keep a copy, and submit it in a way that proves delivery. The employer generally must return a dated copy and send the form to the claims administrator. If the employer does not provide one, DWC publishes English and Spanish claim forms. MCX Legal also explains what to do if an employer does not provide a DWC-1.

Under Labor Code section 5402, filing the form generally requires the claims administrator to authorize up to $10,000 in reasonable and necessary medical treatment while the claim is investigated, subject to applicable treatment and Medical Provider Network rules. The claims administrator generally has 90 days from the employer’s receipt of the completed claim form to accept or deny the claim. If the claim is not denied within that period, section 5402 provides a rebuttable presumption that the injury is compensable, subject to the statute’s terms.

Why the timing of a layoff notice matters

Labor Code section 3600(a)(10) can restrict compensation when a claim is filed after notice of termination or layoff for an injury alleged to have occurred before that notice. It is not an automatic bar. The statute includes exceptions that may apply when:

• the employer had notice of the injury before the termination or layoff notice;
• medical records created before that notice contain evidence of the injury;
• the injury occurred after the notice but before the effective termination or layoff date; or
• the statutory date of a cumulative injury under section 5412 occurred after the notice.

Section 5412 defines the date of a cumulative injury as the date when the worker first suffered disability and knew, or reasonably should have known, that employment caused the disability. Both elements must coincide. The date is not necessarily the first painful day, the last day worked, or the day the DWC-1 was signed.

The evidence may include lost time, modified work, medical treatment, work restrictions, diagnosis, and when the worker understood the connection to employment. Promptly reporting a genuine injury, obtaining medical evaluation, and preserving the real chronology can protect important rights. It does not guarantee a particular outcome.

Preserve the correct employer and insurance information

Public materials describe NFI as the third-party logistics provider and Hanesbrands as the distribution-center customer or tenant. A worker should not decide legal responsibility from those descriptions alone. Preserve:

• paystubs, W-2s, hiring documents, handbooks, badges, schedules, and time records;
• the exact legal name on the paycheck and any staffing or labor-contractor information;
• the written layoff or closure notice, including the envelope or electronic metadata;
• job descriptions and nonconfidential records showing the work actually performed;
• lawful personal contact information for coworkers who observed the work or earlier reports;
• DWC-1 copies, claim numbers, adjuster details, medical notices, and denial letters;
• medical records created before and after any layoff, transfer, or closure notice; and
• a chronology of symptoms, reports, treatment, restrictions, missed time, and modified work.

What happens to benefits if the warehouse closes?

A closure does not automatically erase a valid workers’ compensation claim. Depending on the medical and legal record, benefits may include:

• medical treatment reasonably required to cure or relieve the effects of the injury;
• temporary disability payments for qualifying wage loss caused by the injury;
• permanent disability benefits for lasting impairment; and
• a supplemental job displacement benefit when statutory requirements are met and qualifying work is not offered.

The closure can complicate the proof. There may be no position to return to, and records or witnesses may become harder to locate. A claims administrator may dispute whether wage loss resulted from the injury or from the general layoff. Medical restrictions, available work, the separation date, and the reason wages stopped should be documented separately.

Retaliation for pursuing workers’ compensation is prohibited

Labor Code section 132a prohibits discharge, threats, or discrimination because an employee filed or announced an intention to file a workers’ compensation claim. A facility-wide economic layoff does not by itself prove retaliation. Relevant evidence may include claim-related comments, inconsistent explanations, timing, selection criteria, and the treatment of similarly situated employees.

Section 132a contains a one-year deadline measured from the discriminatory act or the date of termination. A worker who suspects retaliation should obtain individualized advice promptly.

WARN, unemployment, and workers’ compensation are separate rights

California WARN generally requires covered employers to give 60 days’ written notice before specified mass layoffs, relocations, or terminations, subject to statutory definitions and exceptions. EDD maintains a public WARN workbook, but the absence of a matching entry does not establish that no notice exists or that a violation occurred. A notice may appear later, use a different legal employer name, or present a disputed coverage or exception question.

Employees should keep every notice and review EDD’s current WARN information. Riverside County Rapid Response can assist with job-search, training, and unemployment resources. Workers laid off through no fault of their own may qualify for unemployment insurance, but an injured worker’s ability to work can affect benefit coordination. Workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and State Disability Insurance involve different eligibility statements; inconsistent applications can create avoidable disputes.

Riverside help for injured warehouse workers

The Riverside DWC district office is at 3737 Main Street, Suite 300, Riverside. Its Information and Assistance Unit helps injured workers who do not have attorneys. DWC’s statewide information number is 1-800-736-7401, and its website lists free English and Spanish injured-worker workshops.

A consultation with a workers’ compensation attorney in Riverside should address five separate questions:

1. What injury or condition does the medical evidence support?
2. What work caused or aggravated it?
3. When did disability and knowledge of work causation first coincide?
4. When and how did the employer receive notice?
5. Which treatment, benefits, defenses, or deadlines remain disputed?