Nearly half of California’s licensed contractors claim to be sole proprietors and, therefore, are not required to carry workers’ comp insurance. The Contractors State Licensing Board (CSLB) (the 15-member governing body) over contractor licensing in the Department of Consumer Affairs heard last week that the number of actively licensed contractors in the state is up …
California’s state legislators return to Sacramento in twelve days for the final four-week push to pass bills before the session ends on September 12th. Still alive are measures to expand some existing workers’ comp presumptions and create a new one for farmworkers, update the workings of the med-legal process, and reform the California Subsequent Injuries …
The California Senate and Assembly rubberstamped the vast majority of the workers’ comp bills introduced this year and sent them on to the other house before last week’s deadline for bills to clear their house of origin. The measures include proposals to expand existing workers’ comp presumptions for first responders and create new ones for …
The California workers’ comp industry projected a 2024 accident year combined ratio of 123—an increase of 10 points from the prior year and the highest annual combined ratio since before the SB 863 reforms. The year-end data from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau also shows that written premium fell last year while average charged …
The author of a bill to reform California’s Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SIBTF) program amended the measure before its first legislative hearing to tighten the definition of a pre-existing disability. The proposed changes are projected to reduce the number of 100% permanent total disability and cut the annual assessment by 20 to 25%. Employers …
A bill to create the first private sector workers’ comp presumption for heat-related illnesses suffered by farmworkers cleared its first hurdle despite opposition from the employer community. AB 1336, by Assemblyman Dawn Addis (D-San Luis Obispo), is a redo of a bill that reached Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk last year but was vetoed for being …
The Assembly Insurance Committee approved two high-profile measures: one to reform the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund and the other to create a farmworker presumption for heat illnesses (see related items on pages 1 and 4). It advanced several other bills impacting California’s workers’ comp system. The Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee advanced …
The California Nurses Association’s ongoing effort to enact a workers’ comp presumption for private industry frontline healthcare workers cleared its initial policy committee hearing with only a single vote against it. The same committee also advanced a bill to enact an annual cost of living adjustment for permanent disability benefits. Employer interests heavily oppose both …