California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2230


Introduced by Assembly Member Chu

February 18, 2016


An act to amend Sections 4600, 5502, and 5710 of the Labor Code, relating to workers’ compensation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2230, as introduced, Chu. Workers’ compensation: language interpreters.

(1) Existing law establishes a workers’ compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, that generally requires employers to secure the payment of workers’ compensation for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out of, or in the course of, employment. Existing law requires an employer to provide all medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, and hospital treatment that is reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured worker from the effects of his or her injury, and makes the employer liable for the reasonable expense incurred by or on behalf of the employee in providing treatment, as specified.

Existing law requires, in a workers’ compensation proceeding, an employer to provide the services of a qualified interpreter, as defined, when, at the request of the employer, the employer’s insurer, the administrative director, the appeals board, or a workers’ compensation administrative law judge, an employee submits to examination by a physician and the employee does not proficiently speak or understand the English language. In addition, existing law requires, upon request of the injured employee, the employer or insurance carrier to pay for interpretation services if the injured employee cannot effectively communicate with his or her treating physician because he or she cannot proficiently speak or understand the English language.

This bill would require the interpreter to be an interpreter of the employee’s choice under both circumstances. The bill would also authorize the employer to select the interpreter if interpretation services are required and the employee has not selected an interpreter.

(2) Existing law establishes the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and vests the appeals board with full power, authority, and jurisdiction to try and to determine specified matters in workers’ compensation proceedings, including matters relating to the recovery of compensation, and enforcement against the employer or an insurer of liability for compensation imposed upon the employer. Existing law authorizes the appeals board to appoint one or more workers’ compensation judges in any proceeding. Existing law governs hearing held before the appeals board or a workers’ compensation judge.

This bill would require, upon request from either the employee or witness, the employer to pay for the services of a language interpreter who is selected by the employee and who meets specified criteria, if interpretation services are required in workers’ compensation proceedings because the injured employee or witness does not proficiently speak or understand the English language. The bill would authorize the employer to select the interpreter if interpretation services are required and the employee has not selected an interpreter, as specified.

(3) Existing law authorizes the appeals board, a workers’ compensation judge, or any party to the action or proceeding, in any investigation or hearing before the appeals board, to cause the deposition of witnesses. Existing law requires the employer to pay for the services of a language interpreter, upon request from either a witness or deponent, if interpretation services are required because the injured employee or deponent does not proficiently speak or understand the English language.

This bill would require the interpreter to be selected by the employee, but would also authorize the employer to select the interpreter if interpretation services are required and the employee has not selected an interpreter. The bill would also authorize a witness, rather than a deponent, who does not proficiently speak or understand the English language to request the employer to pay for the services of a language interpreter.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P3    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 4600 of the Labor Code is amended to
2read:

3

4600.  

(a) Medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, and
4hospital treatment, including nursing, medicines, medical and
5surgical supplies, crutches, and apparatuses, including orthotic and
6prosthetic devices and services, that is reasonably required to cure
7or relieve the injured worker from the effects of his or her injury
8shall be provided by the employer. In the case of his or her neglect
9or refusal reasonably to do so, the employer is liable for the
10reasonable expense incurred by or on behalf of the employee in
11providing treatment.

12(b) As used in this division and notwithstanding any other law,
13medical treatment that is reasonably required to cure or relieve the
14injured worker from the effects of his or her injury means treatment
15that is based upon the guidelines adopted by the administrative
16director pursuant to Section 5307.27.

17(c) Unless the employer or the employer’s insurer has
18established or contracted with a medical provider network as
19provided for in Section 4616, after 30 days from the date the injury
20is reported, the employee may be treated by a physician of his or
21her own choice or at a facility of his or her own choice within a
22reasonable geographic area. A chiropractor shall not be a treating
23physician after the employee has received the maximum number
24of chiropractic visits allowed by subdivision (c) of Section 4604.5.

25(d) (1) If an employee has notified his or her employer in
26writing prior to the date of injury that he or she has a personal
27physician, the employee shall have the right to be treated by that
28physician from the date of injury if the employee has health care
29coverage for nonoccupational injuries or illnesses on the date of
30injury in a plan, policy, or fund as described in subdivisions (b),
31(c), and (d) of Section 4616.7.

32(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), a personal physician shall
33meet all of the following conditions:

34(A) Be the employee’s regular physician and surgeon, licensed
35pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division
362 of the Business and Professions Code.

37(B) Be the employee’s primary care physician and has
38previously directed the medical treatment of the employee, and
P4    1who retains the employee’s medical records, including his or her
2medical history. “Personal physician” includes a medical group,
3if the medical group is a single corporation or partnership
4composed of licensed doctors of medicine or osteopathy, which
5operates an integrated multispecialty medical group providing
6comprehensive medical services predominantly for
7nonoccupational illnesses and injuries.

8(C) The physician agrees to be predesignated.

9(3) If the employee has health care coverage for nonoccupational
10injuries or illnesses on the date of injury in a health care service
11plan licensed pursuant to Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section
121340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, and the
13employer is notified pursuant to paragraph (1), all medical
14treatment, utilization review of medical treatment, access to
15medical treatment, and other medical treatment issues shall be
16governed by Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of
17Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code. Disputes regarding the
18provision of medical treatment shall be resolved pursuant to Article
195.55 (commencing with Section 1374.30) of Chapter 2.2 of
20Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code.

21(4) If the employee has health care coverage for nonoccupational
22injuries or illnesses on the date of injury in a group health insurance
23policy as described in Section 4616.7, all medical treatment,
24utilization review of medical treatment, access to medical
25treatment, and other medical treatment issues shall be governed
26by the applicable provisions of the Insurance Code.

27(5) The insurer may require prior authorization of any
28nonemergency treatment or diagnostic service and may conduct
29reasonably necessary utilization review pursuant to Section 4610.

30(6) An employee shall be entitled to all medically appropriate
31referrals by the personal physician to other physicians or medical
32providers within the nonoccupational health care plan. An
33employee shall be entitled to treatment by physicians or other
34medical providers outside of the nonoccupational health care plan
35pursuant to standards established in Article 5 (commencing with
36Section 1367) of Chapter 2.2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety
37Code.

38(e) (1) When at the request of the employer, the employer’s
39insurer, the administrative director, the appeals board, or a workers’
40compensation administrative law judge, the employee submits to
P5    1examination by a physician, he or she shall be entitled to receive,
2in addition to all other benefits herein provided, all reasonable
3expenses of transportation, meals, and lodging incident to reporting
4for the examination, together with one day of temporary disability
5indemnity for each day of wages lost in submitting to the
6examination.

7(2) Regardless of the date of injury, “reasonable expenses of
8transportation” includes mileage fees from the employee’s home
9to the place of the examination and back at the rate of twenty-one
10cents ($0.21) a mile or the mileage rate adopted by the Director
11ofbegin insert the Department ofend insert Human Resources pursuant to Section 19820
12of the Government Code, whichever is higher, plus any bridge
13tolls. The mileage and tolls shall be paid to the employee at the
14time he or she is given notification of the time and place of the
15examination.

16(f) When at the request of the employer, the employer’s insurer,
17the administrative director, the appeals board, or a workers’
18compensation administrative law judge, an employee submits to
19examination by a physician and the employee does not proficiently
20speak or understand the English language, he or she shall be
21entitled to the services of a qualified interpreterbegin insert of his or her choiceend insert
22 in accordance with conditions and a fee schedule prescribed by
23the administrative director. These services shall be provided by
24the employer. For purposes of this section, “qualified interpreter”
25means a language interpreter certified, or deemed certified,
26pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 11435.05) of
27Chapter 4.5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of, or Section 68566
28of, the Government Code.begin insert The employer may select the interpreter
29if interpretation services are required and the employee has not
30selected an interpreter.end insert

31(g) If the injured employee cannot effectively communicate
32with his or her treating physician because he or she cannot
33proficiently speak or understand the English language, the injured
34employee is entitled to the services of a qualified interpreterbegin insert of his
35or her choiceend insert
during medical treatment appointments. To be a
36qualified interpreter for purposes of medical treatment
37appointments, an interpreter is not required to meet the
38requirements of subdivision (f), but shall meet any requirements
39established by rule by the administrative director that are
40substantially similar to the requirements set forth in Section
P6    11367.04 of the Health and Safety Code. The administrative director
2shall adopt a fee schedule for qualified interpreter fees in
3accordance with this section. Upon request of the injured employee,
4the employer or insurance carrier shall pay forbegin delete interpreterend delete
5begin insert interpretationend insert services. An employer shall not be required to pay
6for the services of an interpreter who is not certified or is
7provisionally certified by the person conducting the medical
8treatment or examination unless either the employer consents in
9advance to the selection of the individual who provides the
10interpreting service or the injured worker requires interpreting
11service in a language other than the languages designated pursuant
12to Section 11435.40 of the Government Code.begin insert The employer may
13select the interpreter if interpretation services are required and
14the employee has not selected an interpreter.end insert

15(h) Home health care services shall be provided as medical
16treatment only if reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured
17employee from the effects of his or her injury and prescribed by
18a physician and surgeon licensed pursuant to Chapter 5
19(commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business
20and Professions Code, and subject to Section 5307.1 orbegin delete 5703.8.end delete
21begin insert 5307.8.end insert The employer shall not be liable for home health care
22services that are provided more than 14 days prior to the date of
23the employer’s receipt of the physician’s prescription.

24

SEC. 2.  

Section 5502 of the Labor Code is amended to read:

25

5502.  

(a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (d), the
26hearing shall be held not less than 10 days, and not more than 60
27days, after the date a declaration of readiness to proceed, on a form
28prescribed by the appeals board, is filed. If a claim form has been
29filed for an injury occurring on or after January 1, 1990, and before
30January 1, 1994, an application for adjudication shall accompany
31the declaration of readiness to proceed.

32(b) The administrative director shall establish a priority calendar
33for issues requiring an expedited hearing and decision. A hearing
34shall be held and a determination as to the rights of the parties
35shall be made and filed within 30 days after the declaration of
36readiness to proceed is filed if the issues in dispute are any of the
37 following, provided that if an expedited hearing is requested, no
38other issue may be heard until the medical provider network dispute
39is resolved:

P7    1(1) The employee’s entitlement to medical treatment pursuant
2to Section 4600, except for treatment issues determined pursuant
3to Sections 4610 and 4610.5.

4(2) Whether the injured employee is required to obtain treatment
5within a medical provider network.

6(3) A medical treatment appointment or medical-legal
7examination.

8(4) The employee’s entitlement to, or the amount of, temporary
9disability indemnity payments.

10(5) The employee’s entitlement to compensation from one or
11more responsible employers when two or more employers dispute
12liability as among themselves.

13(6) Any other issues requiring an expedited hearing and
14determination as prescribed in rules and regulations of the
15administrative director.

16(c) The administrative director shall establish a priority
17conference calendar for cases in which the employee is represented
18by an attorney or is or was employed by an illegally uninsured
19employer and the issues in dispute are employment or injury arising
20out of employment or in the course of employment. The conference
21shall be conducted by a workers’ compensation administrative law
22judge within 30 days after the declaration of readiness to proceed.
23If the dispute cannot be resolved at the conference, a trial shall be
24set as expeditiously as possible, unless good cause is shown why
25discovery is not complete, in which case status conferences shall
26be held at regular intervals. The case shall be set for trial when
27discovery is complete, or when the workers’ compensation
28administrative law judge determines that the parties have had
29sufficient time in which to complete reasonable discovery. A
30determination as to the rights of the parties shall be made and filed
31within 30 days after the trial.

32(d) (1) In all cases, a mandatory settlement conference, except
33a lien conference or a mandatory settlement lien conference, shall
34be conducted not less than 10 days, and not more than 30 days,
35after the filing of a declaration of readiness to proceed. If the
36dispute is not resolved, the regular hearing, except a lien trial, shall
37be held within 75 days after the declaration of readiness to proceed
38is filed.

39(2) The settlement conference shall be conducted by a workers’
40compensation administrative law judge or by a referee who is
P8    1eligible to be a workers’ compensation administrative law judge
2 or eligible to be an arbitrator under Section 5270.5. At the
3mandatory settlement conference, the referee or workers’
4compensation administrative law judge shall have the authority to
5resolve the dispute, including the authority to approve a
6compromise and release or issue a stipulated finding and award,
7and if the dispute cannot be resolved, to frame the issues and
8stipulations for trial. The appeals board shall adopt any regulations
9needed to implement this subdivision. The presiding workers’
10compensation administrative law judge shall supervise settlement
11conference referees in the performance of their judicial functions
12under this subdivision.

13(3) If the claim is not resolved at the mandatory settlement
14conference, the parties shall file a pretrial conference statement
15noting the specific issues in dispute, each party’s proposed
16permanent disability rating, and listing the exhibits, and disclosing
17witnesses. Discovery shall close on the date of the mandatory
18settlement conference. Evidence not disclosed or obtained
19thereafter shall not be admissible unless the proponent of the
20evidence can demonstrate that it was not available or could not
21have been discovered by the exercise of due diligence prior to the
22settlement conference.

23(e) In cases involving the Director of Industrial Relations in his
24or her capacity as administrator of the Uninsured Employers Fund,
25this section shall not apply unless proof of service, as specified in
26paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 3716, has been filed
27with the appeals board and provided to the Director of Industrial
28Relations, valid jurisdiction has been established over the employer,
29and the fund has been joined.

begin insert

30(f) If interpretation services are required because the injured
31employee or witness does not proficiently speak or understand the
32English language, upon request from either the employee or
33witness, the employer shall pay for the services of a language
34interpreter who is selected by the employee and who is certified
35or deemed certified pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section
3611435.05) of Chapter 4.5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of, or
37Section 68566 of, the Government Code. The employer may select
38the interpreter if interpretation services are required and the
39employee has not selected an interpreter. The fee to be paid by the
40employer shall be in accordance with the fee schedule adopted by
P9    1the administrative director and shall include any other
2deposition-related events as permitted by the administrative
3director.

end insert
begin delete

4(f)

end delete

5begin insert(end insertbegin insertg)end insert Except as provided in subdivision (a), this section shall apply
6irrespective of the date of injury.

7

SEC. 3.  

Section 5710 of the Labor Code is amended to read:

8

5710.  

(a) The appeals board, a workers’ compensation judge,
9or any party to the action or proceeding, may, in any investigation
10or hearing before the appeals board, cause the deposition of
11witnesses residing within or without the state to be taken in the
12manner prescribed by law for like depositions in civil actions in
13the superior courts of this state under Title 4 (commencing with
14Section 2016.010) of Part 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure. To
15that end the attendance of witnesses and the production of records
16may be required. Depositions may be taken outside the state before
17any officer authorized to administer oaths. The appeals board or
18a workers’ compensation judge in any proceeding before the
19appeals board may cause evidence to be taken in other jurisdictions
20before the agency authorized to hear workers’ compensation
21matters in those other jurisdictions.

22(b) If the employer or insurance carrier requests a deposition to
23be taken of an injured employee, or any person claiming benefits
24as a dependent of an injured employee, the deponent is entitled to
25receive in addition to all other benefits:

26(1) All reasonable expenses of transportation, meals, and lodging
27incident to the deposition.

28(2) Reimbursement for any loss of wages incurred during
29attendance at the deposition.

30(3) One copy of the transcript of the deposition, without cost.

31(4) A reasonable allowance for attorney’s fees for the deponent,
32if represented by an attorney licensed by the State Bar of this state.
33The fee shall be discretionary with, and, if allowed, shall be set
34by, the appeals board, but shall be paid by the employer or his or
35her insurer.

36(5) If interpretation services are required because the injured
37employee orbegin delete deponentend deletebegin insert witnessend insert does not proficiently speak or
38understand the English language, upon a request frombegin delete either,end deletebegin insert either
39the employee or witness,end insert
the employer shall pay for the services
40of a language interpreterbegin insert who is selected by the employee and who
P10   1isend insert
certified or deemed certified pursuant to Article 8 (commencing
2with Section 11435.05) of Chapter 4.5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of
3Title 2 of, or Section 68566 of, the Government Code.begin insert The
4employer may select the interpreter if interpretation services are
5required and the employee has not selected an interpreter.end insert
The
6fee to be paid by the employer shall be in accordance with the fee
7schedule adopted by the administrative director and shall include
8any other deposition-related events as permitted by the
9administrative director.



O

    99