BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2493|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2493
Author: Roger Hernández (D)
Amended: 7/3/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMM. : 5-0, 6/27/12
AYES: Lieu, DeSaulnier, Leno, Padilla, Runner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-1, 8/16/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Lieu, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Dutton
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 65-9, 5/30/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Workers compensation: administrative hearings
and
medical examinations and treatments:
interpreters
SOURCE : Small Business California
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the Administrative Director
of the Division of Workers Compensation to establish,
maintain, administer, and publish annually an updated list
of certified administrative hearing interpreters who, based
on testing by an independent organization designated by the
Administrative Director, have been determined to meet
certain minimum standards, for purposes of administrative
hearings and medical examinations conducted in connection
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with workers' compensation and appeals to the Worker's
Compensation Appeals Board. This bill requires a
reasonable fee to be collected from each interpreter
seeking certification, to cover the reasonable regulatory
costs of administering the program.
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 (LAB) Section 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 (SPB) or the Judicial Council.
(LAB Section 4600)
Existing law requires the SPB 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 SPB finds that there is an
insufficient need for interpreting assistance in these
languages. (Government Code (GOV) Section 11435.40)
Existing law requires the SPB to establish, maintain,
administer, and publish annually an updated list of
certified administrative hearing interpreters it has
determined meet the minimum standards in interpreting
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skills and linguistic abilities in languages designated by
the SPB. (GOV Section11435.30)
Existing law requires the SPB 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 SPB. (GOV Section 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. (GOV Section 11435.55)
This bill authorizes the Administrative Director of the
Division of Workers' Compensation to establish, maintain,
administer, and publish annually an updated list of
certified administrative hearing interpreters who, based on
testing by an independent organization designated by the
Administrative Director, have been determined to meet
certain minimum standards, for purposes of administrative
hearings and medical examinations conducted in connection
with workers' compensation and appeals to the Worker's
Compensation Appeals Board. This bill requires a
reasonable fee to be collected from each interpreter
seeking certification, to cover the reasonable regulatory
costs of administering the program.
Comments
Currently, due to budget constraints, the SPB 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 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 SPB's database of certified interpreters,
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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 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.
Prior Legislation
AB 682 (Young), Chapter 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/she shall be entitled to the services
of a qualified interpreter.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/12)
Small Business California (source)
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : 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.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 65-9, 5/30/12
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AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Dickinson, Eng,
Fong, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto,
Gordon, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández,
Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Nestande, Nielsen,
Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino,
Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Donnelly, Grove, Halderman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Logue, Mansoor, Morrell
NO VOTE RECORDED: Davis, Feuer, Fletcher, Fuentes, Gorell,
Valadao
PQ:m 8/20/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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