BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 335
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 335 (Solorio)
As Amended May 27, 2011
Majority vote
INSURANCE 11-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Solorio, Hagman, Charles |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Calderon, Carter, Feuer, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Hayashi, Miller, Olsen, | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| |Alejo, Torres, Wieckowski | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Administrative Director (AD) of the
Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) to adopt, by regulation,
new notices and rules governing notices that are provided to
employees in the workers' compensation system. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Adds a requirement that the AD consult with the Commission on
Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) in
connection with the rules governing providing notice to
employees about their rights under the workers' compensation
laws.
2)Expands the subjects that benefit notices shall include by
adding notice of supplemental job displacement benefits,
rights concerning selection of a personal treating physician,
requests for comprehensive medical evaluation, and offers of
regular, modified, or alternative work.
3)Requires the AD, in consultation with the CHSWC, to prepare,
and make readily available, including on the DWC Web site,
informational material written in plain language that
describes the overall workers' compensation claims system,
including the rights and obligations of employees and
employers at every stage of a claim when a notice is required.
4)Adds a requirement that each notice prescribed by the AD as
AB 335
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required by law be in plain language, and include a citation
to the place in the booklet that discusses relevant
information.
5)Makes a number of conforming changes, such as deletion of
specific statutory language that certain notices must contain,
that have the effect of implementing the above requirements.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Directs the AD to adopt regulations governing service on
employees of notices required by the workers' compensation
laws.
2)Contains numerous statutorily prescribed statements that must
be used in certain notices, and contains requirements that
other notices without prescribed terminology be provided at
specified times to injured workers.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, prior to the last amendment of the bill, between
$300,000 and $600,000 Special Fund expense for the DWC to carry
out the requirements of the bill. The amendments should reduce
these figures, but it is unclear how much the reduction would
be. The costs would be assessed on employers pursuant to
existing provisions of law that provide for the support of the
DWC by employer assessments.
COMMENTS :
1)This bill was introduced at the suggestion of the California
Coalition on Workers' Compensation in order to implement the
recommendations made by the CHSWC in its July, 2010 "Report on
Benefit Notices and Recommendations." The language in the
bill reflects the language recommended in that report.
2)In response to widespread concern that the system of notifying
injured workers of their rights, and how to navigate, in the
workers' compensation system was failing, the CHSWC undertook
an evaluation of the efficacy of the notices that are provided
to injured workers. This evaluation included working with all
relevant stakeholders to determine what the goals of these
notices should be, whether the goals were being met, and if
not, what could be done to improve the situation.
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The CHSWC concluded that there is a consensus that the notices
are:
a) Too voluminous (wordy, redundant, and frequently contain
information that is not needed by the recipient);
b) Complex, overwhelming, and frightening (e.g., "You may
lose important rights unless you . . . .");
c) Difficult to understand (Indirect terminology, overly
legalistic), and at times misleading;
d) Not standardized; and,
e) Difficult for employers to keep updated.
In addition, the CHSWC found the it was difficult for injured
workers to find information on their own, or obtain answers to
questions. As a result, in addition to improving the quality
and effectiveness of the notices, CHSWC recommended that a
plain language booklet be made readily available on the
Division's Web site and through other means of delivery.
3)Supporters argue that AB 335 (Solorio) is a common sense
solution to a problem that is acknowledged by all
stakeholders.
Analysis Prepared by : Mark Rakich / INS. / (916) 319-2086
FN:
0000984