BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    SB 1379  


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          Date of Hearing:  August 3, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          SB 1379  
          (Mendoza) - As Amended May 31, 2016


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill requires interpreters to identify themselves on the  
          record at workers' compensation hearings and depositions.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Costs to the Department of Industrial Relations are expected to  








                                                                    SB 1379  


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          be minor and absorbable (Workers' Compensation Administration  
          Revolving Fund.)


          COMMENTS:


          Background and Purpose.  If an employer or insurer requests a  
          deposition, as a party to a workers' compensation case, and the  
          injured employee does not proficiently speak or understand  
          English, a certified interpreter must be paid for by the  
          employer.  According to the author, interpreters and  
          interpretive services in the workers' compensation system have  
          been a topic of legislative attention in recent years due to  
          stakeholders reporting significant fraudulent activity among  
          interpreters. SB 863 (DeLeon), Chapter 363, Statutes of 2012,  
          required that interpreters in the California workers'  
          compensation system must be certified.  However, the  
          Interpreters Guild of America (IGA), the sponsor of this bill,  
          has reported persistent interpretive services fraud at both  
          Workers' Compensation Appeals Board hearings and depositions,  
          including persons using names or certification numbers that  
          belong to other interpreters. This bill seeks to address the  
          potential for fraud by requiring certified interpreters in the  
          workers' compensation system to state the same information on  
          the record as certified interpreters at court proceedings.


          Analysis Prepared by:Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081

















                                                                    SB 1379  


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