The Department of Industrial Relations is pushing ahead with plans to spend $15 million over three years on an outside media consultant. The total outlay under the contract is over nine times what DIR spends annually for the employees in its Office of External Affairs (OEA) who are tasked with the same responsibilities. DIR derives …
Facing a projected $31.5 billion budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued his May Revise to the proposed state budget, but the plan includes only minor changes to the Department of Industrial Relations’ budget. The proposal claims to cut DIR expenditures by 3.69% or roughly $50 million. But, as far as DIR’s personnel budget is concerned, …
The administrative law judges at the California Department of Insurance’s Administrative Hearing Bureau resolve disputes between employers and workers’ comp carriers and/or the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau. Cases don’t always have to go to trial to get a positive result for an employer. Sometimes filing a formal appeal is enough to resolve the dispute …
The Assembly Labor and Employment Committee will hear AB 594 by Assemblyman Brian Maienschein (D-San Diego), which would authorize many levels of public prosecutors to handle civil and criminal prosecutions independently from regulatory agencies to enforce state labor laws. That includes wage and hour cases and alleged Cal/OSHA regulations violations. An employee or independent contractor …
California Governor Gavin Newsom delivered a proposed $297 billion state budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year that includes nearly $1.4 billion in funding for the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). The Governor’s proposal includes roughly $450 million in additional funding than what was in his original proposal a year ago. Last year, the original proposed …
Department of Industrial Relations officials say they are reviewing bids for a planned $15 million, three-year contract to bring in outside experts to help support its outreach campaigns and to “provide media coaching services, and media training” to DIR staff. The contract’s $5 million annual cost appears to be roughly 25 times what the Department …
A legislative mandate and a pressing technological need have prompted Cal/OSHA and the Department of Industrial Relations to ask the state legislature for more than $14 million in additional funds. The appropriation doesn’t cost the state anything as it would come from the Occupational Safety and Health Fund, derived from assessments on employers’ workers’ comp …
The Department of Industrial Relations set a record by ordering California employers to foot a $1.57 billion bill to operate the state’s workers’ comp system, enforce workplace safety and health rules, fight wage theft and workers’ compensation fraud. The overall price tag is up 13.9% for employers. The assessments, however, are based on premium projections …