BILL ANALYSIS
AB 483
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 27, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mike Feuer, Chair
AB 483 (Buchanan) - As Introduced: February 24, 2009
SUBJECT : Workers' Compensation: Internet WebSites
KEY ISSUE : Should the California Workers' Compensation
Insurance Rating Bureau establish a website that provides
information on whether a specific employer is insured for
workers' compensation and identify the insurer or insurers?
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
SYNOPSIS
This bill recently passed out of the Insurance Committee on a
10-0 vote, and there is no known opposition. The bill seeks to
require the California Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating
Bureau (WCIRB), the state's licensed rating organization, to
establish and maintain an Internet website that would permit all
persons to access information about a particular employer's
workmen's compensation insurance coverage. According to the
author, ready access to this information will serve employees by
letting them know if the employer or prospective employer is
insured, and by whom; protect employers from the competitive
disadvantages posed by uninsured employers; and assist state
agencies in enforcing the insurance requirement. Under existing
law, a person who needs information on an employer's insurer,
such as an employee or a medical provider, must submit a written
request to the WCIRB and pay an $8 fee, and then wait up to 30
days for a reply. The website established pursuant to this bill
would allow a person to obtain this information instantly and
free of charge. The bill gives the Insurance Commissioner until
January 1, 2011, to adopt regulations to implement this bill,
and specifies that the website shall become operative within 180
days after those regulations are adopted. The bill is sponsored
by the California Federation of Labor and supported by several
labor organizations. Last year a nearly identical bill - AB 507
(De La Torre) - passed off the Assembly floor twice (the second
time on concurrence) without a dissenting vote. That bill was
vetoed by the Governor on the grounds that it did not provide
enough specificity as to the exact coverage dates of the
AB 483
Page 2
insurance policy and how often the website would be updated.
This bill, like last year's bill, requires the website to be
updated "as soon as is reasonably feasible" after the
information has been submitted by an insurer, and it requires a
disclaimer that the information may not reflect the most recent
changes in information. As noted in the analysis, it is not
clear how much more specificity is needed to meet the Governor's
objections.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Workers' Compensation
Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB), the state's sole licensed
workers' compensation insurance rating organization, to
establish and maintain an Internet website relating to an
employer's workmen's compensation insurance coverage.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a licensed rating organization, pursuant to
regulations developed by the Insurance Commissioner, to
establish and maintain an Internet website for the purpose of
assisting any person to determine whether an employer is
insured for workers' compensation.
2)Requires the Internet website to do all of the following:
a) Permit a person to submit a query for coverage
information concerning a specified employer, including the
employer's name, address, federal employer identification
number, or any other identifying information as may be
provided for by the Insurance Commissioner.
b) Provide, in response to a query, the names of the
insurer or insurers on the date of the query according to
the recently available information.
c) Be accessible to inquiry without charge, except that the
Commissioner may permit a rating organization to impose
access restrictions as necessary to deter unintended uses
of the website.
d) Contain a hypertext link to the Department of Industrial
Relations website for the purpose of locating employers who
might be self-insured.
e) Be updated to reflect policy information as soon as is
reasonably feasible following the submission of information
by insurers.
f) Include the following disclaimers: search results may
not reflect the most recent information; failure of an
employer to appear in response to a query does not mean
AB 483
Page 3
that the employer does not have insurance; any other
disclaimers as the Commissioner may prescribe.
3)Specifies that the rating organization shall not be required
to disclose on the website policy numbers, inception or
expiration dates, or confidential information, as defined by
the Commissioner.
4)Provides that the Commission shall adopt regulations to
implement this measure no later than January 1, 2011, and that
the website shall become operative no later than 180 days
after the regulations are adopted. Specifies that these
regulations shall include a method by which an employer could
dispute the accuracy of information displayed on the website.
5)Provides that no rating organization, member of a rating
organization, or member of a committee of a rating
organization, when acting in his or her capacity and within
the scope of employment, shall be liable to any person for
injuries or damages alleged to have been caused by good faith
disclosure of information, or for the accuracy or completeness
of any information disclosed in good faith.
6)Provides that nothing in this bill shall be construed to limit
the authority of the rating organization to disclose
information contained in its records to others.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires every employer in California, except the state, to
secure workers' compensation insurance for their employees.
Specifies that the employer may satisfy this requirement by
either purchasing workers' compensation insurance or
self-insuring, as specified. Provides that failure to secure
workers' compensation as required is a misdemeanor punishable
by imprisonment and fine, as specified. (Labor Code Sections
3700 and 3700.5.)
2)Provides for the establishment of a licensed insurance "rating
organization" for the purpose of collecting specified
statistical data relating to workers compensation and employer
liability insurance and to make that information available, as
specified. Requires any insurer providing workers
compensation insurance to belong to a rating organization
licensed by the state and submit specified information to the
AB 483
Page 4
licensed rating organization. (Insurance Code Section 11750
et seq.)
COMMENTS : Existing California law requires all employers, no
matter their size, to pursue worker's compensation insurance for
their employees. Employers can meet this requirement in a
number of ways: by self-insuring or by purchasing coverage from
an authorized private insurer, or by purchasing insurance
through the State Compensation Insurance Fund at cost. Existing
law also provides for the licensing of private, non-profit
"insurance rating organizations" for the purpose of collecting,
and making available to the public, statistical information on
many aspects of the workers' compensation system. In
California, the only licensed rating organization is the
Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, a private,
non-profit organization. This bill would build upon existing
law by requiring the WCIRB, which already collects this
information, to post information concerning an employer's
compensation insurer on a website that is accessible to the
public.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Labor Federation (CLF),
the sponsor of this bill, argues that "providing public access
to workers' compensation coverage will help injured workers,
medical providers, employers, and state enforcement agencies
prevent fraud in the system." Access to this information, CLF
contends, will enable employees to identify their employer's
insurance company and file an injury claim directly with the
insurer. It will also allow a prospective employee to confirm
that an employer has coverage before accepting employment.
Similarly, the information will assist medical providers in
identifying the insurer for more efficient billing purposes.
Employers can use the information, according to CLF, "to confirm
that they, in fact, are covered by insurance and are not getting
fleeced by insurance brokers."
Several other labor organizations point out that this bill will
allow persons to access information more quickly and without
charge, claiming that the current system requires writing a
letter to the WCIRB and waiting 30 days for a response. In
addition, several the supporters point out that this website
will also help state agencies enforce the requirement that all
employers carry workers' compensation insurance. Many of the
supporters also point out that, to this extent, this bill will
also protect employers from the competitive disadvantage posed
AB 483
Page 5
by employers who shirk the insurance requirement.
Governor's Veto Message of AB 507 : Because this bill is
virtually identical to last year's AB 507 (De La Torre), which
was vetoed by the Governor, the author may wish to consider
possible amendments that could meet those objections. Although
AB 507 passed out of the Assembly with unanimous support, and
passed in the Senate with strong bi-partisan support, the
Governor vetoed that bill on the grounds that it did not specify
exact coverage dates or specify how frequently the website would
be updated. The veto message claimed that otherwise, persons
accessing the website might not receive accurate up-to-date
information.
However, it should be stressed that the bill in print does in
fact address this issue, albeit perhaps or perhaps not with the
specificity desired by the Governor. Paragraph (3) on page 3,
line 1 of the bill makes it clear that the website will provide
the name of the insurer as of "the date of the query," subject
to paragraph (7), which in turn requires the website to be
updated "as soon as is reasonably feasible following the
submission of information by the insurers." In addition,
paragraph (8) requires a disclaimer stating that the search
results may not reflect recent changes in information.
The Committee notes it may be that a specific time frame would
be better established by the Insurance Commissioner in
developing specific regulations for the implementation of the
website. Presumably, as the bill moves forward, the author will
work with the Governor's office to ensure that this seemingly
minor concern will be addressed.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Labor Federation (sponsor)
California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union
California Conference of Machinists
California Federation of Teachers
California Professional Firefighters
California School Employees Association
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Engineers and Scientists of California
Laborer's International Union of North America
Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 31
AB 483
Page 6
Strategic Committee of Public Employees
United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Western States Council
UNITE HERE!
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334