BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 338|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 338
Author: Coto (D), et al
Amended: 9/6/07 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUST. RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 3-2, 7/11/07
AYES: Migden, Kuehl, Padilla
NOES: Wyland, Ackerman
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 10-7, 8/30/07
AYES: Torlakson, Cedillo, Corbett, Florez, Kuehl, Oropeza,
Ridley-Thomas, Simitian, Steinberg, Yee
NOES: Cox, Aanestad, Ashburn, Battin, Dutton, Runner,
Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-24, 6/6/07 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Workers compensation: temporary disability
payments
SOURCE : California Labor Federation
California Professional Firefighters
DIGEST : This bill allows temporary disability payments
for which injured workers may be eligible to be paid within
five years of the date of injury.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/6/07 (1) reduce the maximum
number of weeks of temporary disability payments for
"non-severe" work injuries to 104 (from 156, now in the
CONTINUED
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bill), thus keeping the number of weeks at the level in
existing law, but allowing eligibility for five years
rather than the two years in current law, and (2) delete
the provisions in the current bill providing for extensions
for the delays described.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides various forms of compensation to workers who
sustain injuries arising out of or during the course of
employment, including temporary disability indemnity
payments, permanent disability indemnity payments,
retraining vouchers, and medical treatment.
2. Caps temporary disability benefit payments at 104 weeks,
except that those payments may be extended for as long
as 240 weeks for specified injuries/conditions of a more
severe nature.
3. Provides that an injured worker cannot receive temporary
disability benefits for more than two years after the
date that temporary disability payments commenced, even
if the employee has not used up the maximum 104 weeks of
benefits. The period of eligibility is five years for
the specified, more severe, injuries.
This bill allows these benefits to be paid within five
years of the date of injury, rather than the two years in
current law.
Comments
An employee suffering from the following will be eligible
for payments up to 240 weeks within a five-year period:
1. Acute and chronic hepatitis B
2. Acute and chronic hepatitis C
3. Amputations
4. Severe burns
5. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
6. High velocity eye injuries
7. Chemical burns to the eyes
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8. Pulmonary fibrosis
9. Chronic lung disease
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee (prior
to 9/6/07 amendments):
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 Fund
Extension of disability Unknown, estimated
$1,500-$2,000 General
benefits annually
Workload $50 $100 $100
General
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/07)
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO (co-source)
California Professional Firefighters (co-source)
Amalgamated Transit Union
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
California Applicants' Attorneys Association
California Conference of Machinists
California Federation of Teachers
California School Employees Association, AFL-CIO
California State Employees Association
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Engineers and Scientists of California, Local 20, IFPTE
Independent Employees of Merced County
International Federation of Professional and Technical
Engineers, Local 21
Organization of SMUD Employees
Peace Officers Research Association of California
San Bernardino Public Employees Association
San Diego County Court Employees Association
San Luis Obispo County Employees Association
Santa Rosa City Employees Association
Service Employees International Union
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Strategic Committee of Public Employees, Laborers'
International Union of North America
UNITE HERE!
United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Western States
Council
WORKSAFE!
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/30/07)
Acclamation Insurance Management Services
American Electronics Association
American Insurance Association
Association of California Insurance Companies
California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
California Chamber of Commerce
California Coalition on Workers' Compensation
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
California Restaurant Association
California State Association of Counties
City of Santa Ana
City of Tulare
CSAC Excess Insurance Authority
Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce
League of California Cities
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
North Bay Schools Insurance Authority
Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce and Visitor's Bureau
Regional Council of Rural Counties
San Diego County Schools Joint Powers Authority
San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters argue that the current
structure for temporary disability benefits not only
disenfranchises the small number of more severely-injured
workers who justifiably need to stay on temporary
disability (TD) indemnity payment benefits for longer than
104 weeks but it also creates disincentives for injured
workers to return to work. A worker may draw TD benefits
for a few weeks, return to light duty while awaiting
surgery, and then need some time off and assistance to
recover from surgery. Under current law, the TD time limit
begins when the first TD payment is made. The time that
they have returned to work continues to count against their
two-year TD cap, taking away the incentive to return to
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light duty. Supporters argue also that injured workers who
face delayed or denied medical treatment also suffer under
this TD structure. Their recovery is delayed when
insurance companies review doctors' decisions. During this
time, the TD time limit continues to tick. Injured workers
should not be punished while insurance companies fight
doctors' decisions.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents acknowledge that
there are problems with the temporary disability system,
but object to the increased costs from extending benefits
the additional 52 weeks from 104 to 156. Opponents stress
that a prompt return to employment after an injury reduces
an injured workers long-term wage loss. The newest data
from the Division of Workers' Compensation shows a five
percent increase in return-to-work rates. The 104-week
cap, in conjunction with other reforms is having the
desired effect. In addition, opponents believe that the
provisions of this bill that extend the number of weeks of
benefits, when treatment is disputed, acts as a penalty on
employers when there are good faith disagreements about
medical care. This bill unreasonably grants an extension
to workers when the employer is doing exactly what the
Labor Code says they are supposed to do - seeking
utilization review of medical treatment. They further
argue that these proposed extensions will actually act as a
disincentive for employees to return to work by creating
the opportunity to obtain more weeks of benefits by seeking
unnecessary treatment. Finally, public sector employers
make similar arguments with respect to the related
extension of 4850 benefits.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Arambula, Bass, Beall, Berg, Brownley, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De
Leon, DeSaulnier, Dymally, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fuentes,
Galgiani, Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Huffman, Jones,
Karnette, Krekorian, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu,
Ma, Mendoza, Mullin, Nava, Parra, Plescia, Portantino,
Price, Richardson, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Solorio,
Swanson, Torrico, Wolk, Nunez
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Benoit, Berryhill, Blakeslee,
DeVore, Duvall, Fuller, Gaines, Garcia, Garrick, Horton,
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Houston, Huff, Jeffries, Keene, Maze, Nakanishi, Niello,
Sharon Runner, Silva, Tran, Villines, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aghazarian, Cook, Emmerson, La Malfa,
Smyth, Soto, Spitzer, Strickland
NC:mw 9/6/07 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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