Workers who are hurt on the job deserve to be compensated quickly and fairly, even if those workers are pro football, baseball, basketball, hockey or soccer players.

That's the fundamental point of the workers' compensation system on which all workers depend. But fair cuts both ways, and professional athletes claiming cumulative injuries incurred during the course of their careers are abusing the California workers' compensation system.

In an article last week, Los Angeles Times reporter Marc Lifsher described how retired athletes tap into the state's generous workers' comp system to collect six-figure settlements for cumulative trauma, even though they played a fraction of games in California, or didn't play here.

Just as some players cheat the game by taking performance-enhancing drugs, others are threatening the integrity of workers' comp, to the detriment of California businesses and ultimately California workers. The Legislature is confronting the issue, as it should. Billionaire owners and millionaire players have hired blue-chip lobby firms and consultants to protect this rip-off.

The California Insurance Guarantee Association is the entity that pays workers' compensation claims when workers' comp insurance companies become insolvent. State employers -- not just pro sports teams -- pay into the California Insurance Guarantee Association.

In a letter to Assembly Member Henry T. Perea, D-Fresno, the association in December said that California residents account for only 373 of its 1,873 claims from professional athletes.

The number of claims from retired athletes is growing at an alarming rate -- 34 per month, as of December. The association added four claims adjusters to handle the influx of athletes' claims.

The letter cited several issues that should alarm lawmakers, employers and workers. Athletes who played only one day in California, or suited up but sat on the bench, can receive compensation. Athletes can file claims whether or not they were injured in California.

The letter notes that players file claims in their home states and receive compensation. Because of the laxity of California's law, California judges can award full benefits to out-of-state players.

California cannot afford to be the bank for out-of-state athletes and their lawyers. The association's deficit hovers at $2 billion. And California employers -- not just sports teams -- paid $78 million toward reducing that deficit last year.

Perea has proposed Assembly Bill 1309, which would deny California benefits to pro baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer players whose teams are not based in California and who came here only occasionally for games.

California's system should take care of injured athletes who played the bulk of their time California, quickly and fairly. But if they played for teams in Texas, Florida, or any other state, those states need to take responsibility.