BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Ted W. Lieu, Chair
Date of Hearing: June 27, 2012 2011-2012 Regular
Session
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Fiscal:Yes
Urgency: No
Bill No: AB 2493
Author: Hernandez
As Introduced/Amended: May 25, 2012
SUBJECT
Workers' compensation: administrative hearings and medical
examinations and treatments: interpreters.
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature allow the Division of Workers'
Compensation (DWC) or an independent organization certified by
the DWC establish, maintain, administer, and publish annually an
updated list of certified administrative hearing and medical
examination interpreters?
PURPOSE
To permit the Division of Workers' Compensation or an
independent organization to establish, maintain, administer, and
publish annually an updated list of certified administrative
hearing and medical examination interpreters separate from the
State Personnel Board's list of certified interpreters.
ANALYSIS
Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system that
provides benefits to an employee who suffers from an injury or
illness that arises out of and in the course of employment,
irrespective of fault. This system requires all employers to
secure payment of benefits by either securing the consent of the
Department of Industrial Relations to self-insure or by securing
insurance against liability from an insurance company duly
authorized by the state.
Existing law provides that, if an employee submits to
examination by a physician at the request of the employer, the
employer's insurer, or other specified parties, and the employee
does not proficiently speak or understand the English language,
he or she shall be entitled to the services of a qualified
interpreter in accordance with conditions and a fee schedule
prescribed by the administrative director. These services shall
be provided by the employer. (Labor Code §4600)
Existing law provides that, for the purposes of workers'
compensation, the interpreter can only be certified, or deemed
certified, as per a certification process created by the State
Personnel Board or the Judicial Council. (Labor Code §4600)
Existing law requires the State Personnel Board designate the
languages for which certification shall be established. The
languages designated shall include, but not be limited to,
Spanish, Tagalog, Arabic, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean,
Portuguese, and Vietnamese until the State Personnel Board finds
that there is an insufficient need for interpreting assistance
in these languages. (Government Code §11435.40)
Existing law requires the State Personnel Board to establish,
maintain, administer, and publish annually an updated list of
certified administrative hearing interpreters it has determined
meet the minimum standards in interpreting skills and linguistic
abilities in languages designated by the State Personnel Board.
(Government Code §11435.30)
Existing law requires the State Personnel Board to establish,
maintain, administer, and publish annually, an updated list of
certified medical examination interpreters it has determined
meet the minimum standards in interpreting skills and linguistic
abilities in languages designated by the State Personnel Board.
(Government Code §11435.35)
Existing law also provides that a hearing agency or physician
has the discretion to provisionally qualify or use another
interpreter. In the case of medical examinations, the physician
must note it in his or her record of the medical evaluation.
Hearing Date: June 27, 2012 AB 2493
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 2
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
(Government Code §11435.55)
This bill would provide that, for both lists described above,
the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers'
Compensation or an independent organization designated by the
administrative director may establish, maintain, administer, and
publish annually an updated list of certified administrative
hearing interpreters it has determined meet the minimum
standards in interpreting skills and linguistic abilities for
workers' compensation examinations and proceedings.
This bill would also require the collection of a fee, determined
by the Administrative Director, from each interpreter seeking
certification. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable
regulatory costs of administering the testing and certification
program and of publishing the list of certified medical
examination interpreters on the Division of Workers'
Compensation Internet Web site.
This bill would also require that, if the Administrative
Director chooses not to administer the testing and certification
program, the administrative director must contract with one or
more independent organizations to conduct testing and to certify
the qualifications of medical examination interpreters.
COMMENTS
1. Need for this bill?
Currently, due to budget constraints, the State Personnel
Board is not offering certification exams for administrative
hearing and medical interpreter certification. While there
are offering limited exams for court interpreter
certification, this certification does not have universal
Hearing Date: June 27, 2012 AB 2493
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 3
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
application in the workers' compensation system. The end
result, according to the author and sponsor of this measure,
is that there simply are not enough interpreters in the
workers' compensation system for injured workers who are not
English proficient.
According to the State Personnel Board's database of certified
interpreters, there are approximately 743 interpreters; the
Courts have certified about 2,000 interpreters. The DWC's
Workers' Compensation Information System (WCIS) reports that
there were 94,742 Subsequent reports of Injury (SROI)
involving indemnity benefits, which would include Permanent
Disability benefits. It is unknown how many of those
individuals were not English proficient or were not assisted
by a certified interpreter.
AB 2493 seeks to address the lack of interpreters in the
workers' compensation system by empowering the Division of
Workers' Compensation or a third-party to compile a list of
qualified interpreters for administrative hearings and medical
examinations.
2. Possible Amendments :
AB 2494, as currently written, allows the Division of Workers'
Compensation or a separate third-party vendor to create lists
of qualified interpreters for workers' compensation hearings
and medical examinations. However, as was discussed above,
the same budget constraints that impact the State Personnel
Board will almost certainly impact the Division of Workers'
Compensation. Additionally, there is not a significant check
on the conflicts that could be present if the organization
also trains interpreters. Therefore, the Committee may wish
to consider the following amendments:
On page 2, lines 17 and 18, strike "or an independent
organization designated by the administrative director";
On page 2, line 20, strike "it has" and insert "who, based on
testing by an independent organization designated by the
administrative director, have been";
Hearing Date: June 27, 2012 AB 2493
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 4
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
On page 2, line 24, insert the following at the end of the
line: "The independent testing organization shall have no
financial interest in the training of interpreters or in the
employment of interpreters for administrative hearings."
On page 2, line 30, strike "if the administrative"; and strike
lines 1-4 on page 3;
On page 3, lines 17 and 18, strike "or an independent
organization designated by the administrative director";
On page 3, line 20, strike "it has" and insert "who, based on
testing my an independent organization designated by the
administrative director, have been";
On page 3, line 26, insert the following at the end of the
line: "The independent testing organization shall have no
financial interest in the training of interpreters or in the
employment of interpreters for medical examinations."
On page 3, line 32, strike "If the administrative" and strike
lines 33-36.
3. Proponent Arguments :
Proponents argue that there is a lack of qualified
interpreters that are required to provide vital interpretation
services to injured workers. Proponents argue that this lack
of interpreters is due to the lack of available exams, and
this in turn is leading to the use of provisionally certified
interpreters. This lack of experience can lead to disputes on
the interpretation, which drives litigation and delays medical
treatment. This delay inhibits the injured worker's return to
work, hurting the employer and increasing costs for
businesses. Proponents believe that by allowing the Division
of Workers' Compensation to certify interpreters will create a
list of qualified interpreters that will help to bring this
problem to a close.
Hearing Date: June 27, 2012 AB 2493
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 5
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
4. Prior Legislation :
AB 682 (Young) Chaper 1150, Statutes of 1981, provided, among
other things, that if an employee submits to examination by a
physician at the request of the employer, the employer's
insurer, or other specified parties, and the employee does not
proficiently speak or understand the English language, he or
she shall be entitled to the services of a qualified
interpreter.
SUPPORT
Small Business of California (Sponsor)
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
OPPOSITION
None on file.
Hearing Date: June 27, 2012 AB 2493
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 6
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations