The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California dismissed a lawsuit filed by gig economy companies Postmates and Uber to block the state from applying AB 5’s ABC test to their past operations. Two drivers had also joined in the challenge. The dismissal was the second in the case, and the court was …
The Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee moved two bills to extend the sunset dates for certain industry exemptions to California’s rule for distinguishing between independent contractors and employees. One of the bills would extend an existing exemption for newspaper carriers, while the second would extend exemptions for licensed manicurists, and subcontractors providing trucking …
Proposed legislation that threatened to undermine the curated medical provider networks that employers and insurance carriers use to keep medical costs down and fight fraud in the workers’ comp system is being downgraded. Assemblymen Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-San Bernardino) and Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) are dropping plans – for now – to create a statewide …
California employers can expect to pay more, a lot more, if a proposed bill to create a state-run wraparound medical provider network (MPN) becomes law. Experts note that employers will pay millions to develop and maintain this state-run all-encompassing network. The proposed change will drive up the cost of care by losing network discounts on …
As noted in the last edition of this publication, the latest existential threat to California’s workers’ compensation system is Assembly Bill 1465 co-authored by Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Reyes (D-San …
California Legislators added a handful of bills late in the introduction period to amend the state’s workers’ comp system. Concerns are being raised by employers and payors. Provider-focused bills seek to amend the medical provider network (MPN) and billing rules, whilst others build on the workers’ comp presumptions for public safety officers. There are not …
Workers’ Comp Executive launches each new year with the publication of a list of the “Top Stories” from the prior 12 months. Some years are more newsworthy than others, but we certainly had some doozies during what was our 30th year covering the California workers’ comp industry. Beset by the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Newsom followed …
The bill signing season is well underway. Governor Gavin Newsom put pen to paper on many bills, including measures increasing the number of exemptions to the Dynamex ABC test and a bill requiring employers to report workplace cases of COVID-19 to local and state public health officials. In addition to these measures, brokers should take …