At its hearing this morning, the Senate Labor, Public Employment, and Retirement Committee is scheduled to review SB 631 by committee chair Dave Cortese (D-Silicon Valley). The bill currently calls for a study of gender equity issues in the workers’ compensation system, but it could ultimately be much more woke. The proposal follows years of …
With several workers’ comp bills on the agenda, the Assembly Insurance Committee will hold its first policy hearing of the session next week. Legislators are also getting busy amending bills already introduced, including one to expand public disclosure of contractors’ workers’ comp policies. Next week, three workers’ comp bills are on the Assembly Insurance Committee …
Bill introductions are complete for the first year of this two-year legislative cycle, and most workers’ compensation bills are again focused on workplace presumptions of compensability. Sprinkled among these bills are others to study gender issues, provider payments, or to require all utilization review physicians to be licensed here. Spot bills are also in the …
The California Legislature passed, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 1064 by Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) to require every applicant for a license from the Structural Pest Control Board and those seeking to renew a license to show proof of workers’ comp coverage or declare that they have no employees. The board sponsored …
Governor Gavin Newsom waited until the final hours before the September 30th deadline to take action on numerous bills of interest to the workers’ comp community. Ultimately, he signed several Covid-19-related measures while vetoing two bills seeking to expand existing presumptions for skin cancer and post-traumatic stress disorders. Newsom’s support for AB 1751 by Assemblyman …
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 …
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 …