The California Legislature faces a deadline today to wrap up its work on bills for this session. While several bills were still pending as of deadline, legislators did not wait until the last minute to send other workers’ comp bills to the governor’s desk. The advancing measures include a bill that would ultimately require nearly …
The California Legislature is entering the final weeks of the session, and bills to extend the Covid-19 presumptions for critical workers, shorten the investigatory period for some claims, and ultimately require all contractors to carry workers’ comp coverage remain alive. Last week, the Assembly and Senate appropriations committees weeded out hundreds of bills via the …
Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) amended her bill SB 1127 to limit claims investigations and increase penalties, but controversial provisions remain. Meanwhile, a measure to increase the types of construction licensees required to carry workers comp with or without employees. SB 1127 has yet to be heard by the Assembly Insurance Committee or …
Key deadlines in the legislative process winnowed down the list of bills for the second half of the session, but the majority affecting California’s workers’ comp system are still in play. Bills covering presumptions, temporary disability, investigatory deadlines, and coverage mandates cleared their houses of origin by the May 31 deadline, while a measure addressing …
Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-Marin County) introduced three bills to reform operations and improve transparency at the California Department of Insurance (CDI). Two cleared a legislative hurdle and remain alive. Levine, one of three democrat challengers (and two republican and one NPP) seeking to unseat Ricardo Lara as California’s Insurance Commissioner, introduced the bills in the …
The Assembly Insurance Committee held its first hearing of the year with a comprehensive slate of bills impacting the California workers’ comp system. Notable were bills by committee chair Tom Daly (D-Anaheim) to extend the Covid-19 presumptions for critical workers another two years and a bill by Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Sacramento) to give the California …
The Assembly and Senate policy committees overseeing workers’ comp issues will have a busy spring after legislators introduced numerous measures addressing the system that join a handful of carryover bills. The newly proposed legislation includes bills to extend the existing Covid-19 presumptions, expand other presumptions, shorten the time employers have to investigate claims, and address …
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is in the unusual position of defending a voter-backed initiative to classify drivers for app-based services as independent contractors while also prosecuting those same companies for not classifying those same drivers as employees. The AG filed his opening brief to overturn a lower court decision finding that Proposition 22 is …