BILL ANALYSIS
AB 483
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Date of Hearing: April 1, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON INSURANCE
Joe Coto, Chair
AB 483 (Buchanan) - As Introduced: February 24, 2009
SUBJECT : Workers' Compensation: Internet websites
SUMMARY : Requires the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating
Bureau (WCIRB) to establish an Internet website that identifies
if employers are insured for workers' compensation.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a licensed rating organization to establish and
maintain an Internet website for the purpose of assisting
people to determine whether an employer is insured for
workers' compensation. The only licensed rating organization
in this regard is the WCIRB.
2)Specifies that this Internet website shall be established and
maintained in accordance with regulations adopted by the
Insurance Commissioner (IC) after notice and hearing. The
regulations shall be adopted by January 1, 2011, and the
website will become operative no later than 180 days after the
effective date of the regulations.
3)Specifies that the Internet website shall:
a) Permit a person to ask a question about coverage
information on a specified employer.
b) Permit the question to specify an employer, using the
name, address, or other identifying information of the
employer including the employer's federal identification
number, as may be provided by regulations adopted by the
IC.
c) In response to the question, provide the name of the
workers' compensation insurer or insurers for the employer
on the date of the query according to the most recent
information available, and provide a contact address for
the insurer or by providing a hypertext link to insurer
information available on the California Department of
Insurance's (CDI) Internet website.
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d) Be accessible for inquiries without charge, provided the
website is used for intended purposes.
e) Contain a hypertext link to the California Department of
Industrial Relations' Internet website for the purpose of
locating employers who may be self-insured.
f) Include a disclaimer stating that the search results
may not reflect the most recent changes in information,
including a statement that the failure of an employer to
appear on the website does not mean that the employer does
not have insurance.
4)Provides that the rating organization shall not be required to
disclose on the website any policy numbers, inception or
expiration dates, or confidential information, as defined by
the IC.
5)Specifies that the regulations shall specify a method by which
an employer may dispute, through the rating organization or
the employer's insurance company, the accuracy of the
information displayed on the Internet website.
6)Provides that no rating organization, member of a rating
organization when acting within their capacity as a member, or
employee shall be liable to any person for injury or damages
caused by the good faith disclosure of information pursuant to
this legislation.
7)Provides that this legislation shall not be construed to
create liability except as provided in this section, nor as a
legislative recognition that, except for the enactment of this
section, a liability would exist.
8)Specifies that nothing in this legislation shall be construed
as limiting the authority of a rating organization to disclose
information contained in its records to others.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires all employers to either have a policy of workers'
compensation insurance or be lawfully self-insured.
2)Allows enforcement agencies access to various elements of data
in order to investigate and enforce the requirements that
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employers be covered, but generally does not make this data
available to the public.
FISCAL EFFECT : Minor costs to CDI to adopt regulations. The
costs incurred by the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating
Bureau are not state costs, and are funded by its member
insurers.
COMMENTS :
1)Author's reasons for bill. According to the Author's office,
current law makes workers' compensation coverage information
difficult to obtain and many employers either do not know or
will not provide this information to workers. Workers can
only receive this information if they request it through
writing or email from the Workers' Compensation Insurance
Rating Bureau (WCIRB). According to the Author, this bill
makes available website information on the coverage status of
employers, protects workers from employers without workers'
compensation coverage, and protects insured employers from
competitive disadvantages by uninsured employers. The Author
further states that the state could save money by handling
fewer inquiries because the information would be made
available over the Internet.
2)Additional arguments in support. The California Labor
Federation, AFL-CIO, which is the sponsor of the bill, states
that 33 other states have online proof of workers'
compensation coverage databases in use. This federation also
notes that California's Contractors State Licensing Board also
provides similar information in a searchable public format.
Creation of a searchable database allows employees to identify
their employer's insurance company and enables them to file an
injury claim directly with the insurer. It also allows a
prospective employee to confirm that an employer has coverage
before accepting a position. Finally, a searchable website
would also help state agencies enforce the requirement that
all employers carry workers' compensation insurance.
3)Previous legislation. In the 2005-06 Session, similar
legislation, AB 1883 (De La Torre) was approved by the
Legislature but vetoed by the Governor. Last year the
Legislature considered another similar measure, AB 507 (De La
Torre), which was approved by the Legislature but vetoed by
the Governor. The Governor said:
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"The bill would establish an Internet website to enable any
person to identify whether or not an employer is insured for
workers' compensation. This is a laudable goal. However, I
am concerned that the website would not be required to post
the effective dates of coverage of a policy, thereby
significantly diminishing the value of the information. More
importantly, the bill does not contain any specified timing in
which the information must be updated, potentially leading to
inaccurate information on the website."
4)Amendments to consider. In light of the Governor's message,
the Author may want to consider amending the bill to require
that the website specify that the data provided is "current as
of _____ [a specific date]" and that there is a requirement
that the website be updated at some specific interval.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO (Sponsor)
California Applicants' Attorneys Association
California Federation of Teachers
California Professional Firefighters
California School Employees Association (CSEA), AFL-CIO
United Transportation Union
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Manny Hernandez / INS. / (916) 319-2086