Three Significant Workers' Compensation Bills Sent to Governor

Three significant workers' compensation bills are pending in the Governor's office for his review. He will either sign them into law or veto them. You can make a difference by contacting the Governor's office and urging him to sign these bills into law.

SB 1717 would phase in over three years a doubling of the number of weeks of permanent disability payments and also eliminate the benefit reduction when an employer offers return to work. Numerous studies, including the DWC's own reveal that regulations to implement the 2004 "reforms," have reduced benefits by more than 50% across the board. Employers' premiums have dropped by 60%, and employers profits set record highs in each of the last four years. Carriers easily could absorb the cost increase without raising premiums.

SB 1115 would prohibit apportioning (i.e., reducing) PD benefits on the basis of asymptomatic, non-disabling "risk factors." It reiterates into the Labor Code existing law in the Government Code that protects the civil rights of women, ethnic minorities, and older persons, adds an additional factor - "genetic predisposition."

AB 2081 cracks down on utilization review (medical treatment request) fraud and employer fraud. The former prohibits kickbacks between third party claims administrators and utilization review providers, and the latter prohibits deliberate misclassification of employees and corporate officers or shareholders to avoid the obligation to provide workers' comp coverage.
You can call or fax or write the Governor at:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160 (new number)

You can email the Governor here.