The 2023 Legislative cycle was relatively quiet for the workers’ comp community overall, but the Legislature passed, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several measures that affect employers and the workers’ comp system for 2024. The laws include new required disclosures and make changes to some types of workers’ comp benefits. Construction industry risks will have …
A San Francisco firefighter sustained injuries when a city bus drove through an active emergency scene. The injured firefighter filed a negligence lawsuit against the City and the bus driver. The First District Court of Appeal says workers’ compensation is his only remedy. The decision in Vann v. City and County of San Francisco stems …
A University of California at Irvine employee was injured in a bicycle accident on her way home from work. Employee Rose Jones sustained injuries when she crashed her bike roughly 10 seconds into her ride home. The crash happened when she swerved to avoid an open trench on the bike path. The accident occurred on …
The parents of a worker killed while traveling for work cannot sue her employer for wrongful death. The Third District Court of Appeal held that the Workers’ Compensation Act’s exclusivity provision covers the claim under the commercial traveler rule. While it does not make new law, the details provide nonlawyers insight into it. The case …
The Fourth District Court of Appeal says a company’s failure to report an employee’s Labor Code section 132a workers’ compensation discrimination claim to its employment practices liability (EPLI) insurance carrier negated any obligation the carrier might have had to defend the claim. Also, because the carrier ultimately agreed to cover some costs associated with defending …
The Department of Industrial Relations just announced its annual assessments for 2024. The total assessments are $1.7 billion – an 8.5% increase from the $1.57 billion for 2023. It is …
California’s workers’ comp system includes minimum and/or maximum payroll limits for two dozen classifications, as well as limits for owners and executives, and the limits are likely to go up next year. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau is proposing a 3.4% increase to account for projected wage inflation. See the chart nearby. The Bureau …
A roofing contractor is suing Pinnacol Assurance, Colorado’s largest workers’ comp carrier alleging that it routinely overcharges construction risks by charging or collecting premium on payments made to subcontractors who have workers’ comp or have legally waived it. Gold Star Premium Roofing alleges that many of these subcontractors already have workers’ comp coverage or are …