BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1309|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1309
Author: Perea (D), et al.
Amended: 9/5/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 7/10/13
AYES: Monning, Wyland, Leno, Padilla, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 61-4, 5/2/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Workers compensation: professional athletes
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill creates restrictions on the ability of
professional athletes who play outside of California to file in
California for workers' compensation benefits, as specified.
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 medical, surgical, chiropractic,
acupuncture, and hospital treatment, including nursing,
medicines, medical and surgical supplies, crutches, and
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apparatuses, including orthotic and prosthetic devices and
services, that is reasonably required to cure or relieve the
injured worker from the effects of his/her injury shall be
provided by the employer.
Existing law provides that if an employee who has been hired or
is regularly employed in California receives personal injury by
accident arising out of and in the course of employment outside
of California, the employee or the employee's dependents shall
be entitled to compensation according to the law of California.
Existing law provides that, for employees hired outside of
California and temporarily in California, the employer and
his/her employer must be exempted from California's workers'
compensation laws while such employee is temporarily within this
state doing work for his/her employer if:
1.The employer has furnished workers' compensation insurance
coverage under the workers' compensation insurance or similar
laws of a state other than California, so as to cover such
employee's employment while in this state; and
2.The extraterritorial provisions of California's Workers'
Compensation law are recognized in such other state and
provided employers and employees who are covered in this state
are likewise exempted from the application of the workmen's
compensation insurance or similar laws of such other state.
If the following requirements are met, the laws of the other
state shall be the exclusive remedy against such employer for
any injury, whether resulting in death or not, received by such
employee while working for such employer in this state.
Existing law provides that no claim to workers' compensation
benefits shall be maintained unless within thirty days after the
occurrence of the injury the employer is served notice in
writing, signed by the person injured or someone in his/her
behalf, or in case of the death of the person injured, by a
dependent or someone in the dependent's behalf.
Existing law also provides that knowledge of an injury, obtained
from any source, on the part of an employer, his/her managing
agent, superintendent, foreman, or other person in authority, or
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knowledge of the assertion of a claim of injury sufficient to
afford opportunity to the employer to make an investigation into
the facts, is equivalent to service of a notice described above.
Existing law specifies that the statute of limitations to being
proceedings for the collection a workers' compensation claim is
one year from the date of injury.
Existing law specifies that date of injury in cases of
occupational diseases or cumulative injuries is that date upon
which the employee first suffered disability therefrom and
either knew, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should
have known, that such disability was caused by his/her present
or prior employment.
This bill creates restrictions on the ability of professional
athletes who play outside of California to file in California
for workers' compensation benefits. Specifically, this bill:
1.Exempts an employee hired outside of this state and his/her
employer from the occupational disease and cumulative injury
provisions of this state's workers' compensation laws if:
A. The employee is a professional athlete, defined, for
purposes of these provisions, to include an athlete who
is employed at the minor or major league level in the
sport of baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, or
soccer.
B. That professional athlete is temporarily within this
state doing work for his/her employer.
C. The employer has furnished workers' compensation
insurance under the laws of the state other than
California that covers the professional athlete's
employment while in this state, except as specified.
2.Deems a professional athlete to be temporarily within the
state doing work for his/her employer if, during the 365
consecutive days immediately preceding the professional
athlete's last day of work for the employer within the state,
the professional athlete performs less than 20% of his/her
duty days, as defined, in the state.
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3.Exempts a professional athlete and his/her employer from the
occupational disease or cumulative injury provisions of this
state's workers' compensation laws when all of the
professional athlete's employers in his/her last year of work
as a professional athlete are exempt from these provisions
unless the professional athlete has, over the course of
his/her professional athletic career:
A. Worked for two or more seasons for a California-based
team or teams, as defined, or worked 20% or more of
his/her duty days in California or for a California-based
team, and, over the course of his/her professional
career;
B. Worked for fewer than seven seasons for any team other
than a California-based team.
4.Provide that these changes apply to all pending claims for
benefits filed on or after September 15, 2013, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/10/13) (unable to reverify at time of
writing) (per Sen. L.I.&R analysis)
American International Group
Anaheim Ducks
Angels Baseball LP
Association of California Insurance Companies
Bay Area Council
California Chapters of the National Electrical Contractors
Association
California Chiropractic Association
Chivas USA
Golden State Warriors
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union
No.18
Liberty Mutual Group
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Kings Hockey Club, LP
Los Angeles Lakers, Inc.
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Major League Baseball
Major League Soccer
National Basketball Association
National Football League
National Hockey League
Sacramento Kings
San Diego Chargers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco Giants
San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Sharks
The Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Raiders
The Zenith Insurance Company
Valley Industry and Commerce Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/10/13) (unable to reverify at time
of writing) (per Sen. L.I.&R analysis)
Albert R. Dennis, III
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Alliance for retired Americans
California Applicants' Attorneys Association
California Association of Highway Patrolmen
California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union
California Conference of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
California Federation of Teachers
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
California Neurology Society
California Nurses Association
California Professional Firefighters
California Psychological Association
California School Employees Association, AFL-CIO
California Society of Industrial Medicine and Surgery
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Consumer Attorneys of California
Engineers and Scientists, IFPTE Local 20
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers
AFL-CIO & CLC, Local 21
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
JJ Stokes
Jockeys' Guild
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Labor Coalition
Laborers International Union of North America
Laborers' International Union of North America Locals 777 & 792
Larry Kaminski
Law Offices of Howard F. Silber
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor
Major League Baseball Players
Major League Baseball Players Association
Major League Soccer Players Union
Monterey Bay Central Labor Council
National Basketball Players Association
National Football League Players' Association
National Hockey League Players Association
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Professional and Technical Engineers, IFPTE Local 21, AFL-CIO
Professional Hockey Players Association
Service Employees International Union California, AFL-CIO
State Building and Construction Trades Council of California
The Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO
The Jockeys Guild
UNITE HERE, AFL-CIO
United Food and Commercial Workers, Western States Council
Utility Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO
Voters Injured at Work
Women's National Basketball Players Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to proponents, out-of- state
professional athletes are taking advantage of loopholes in
California's workers' compensation system to the detriment of
substantial California interests, and to the detriment of
California sports teams. Specifically, proponents argue that,
as a result of the "last employer over which California has
jurisdiction" rule, and the absence of an enforceable one-year
limitations period, California teams are facing cumulative
injury claims from players with extremely minimal California
contacts, but substantial playing histories for teams in other
states. Proponents argue that the out-of-state claims are
clogging the workers' compensation courts with cases that should
be filed in another state, and causing all insured California
employers to absorb rapidly escalating costs being incurred by
CIGA. Proponents argue that this bill will resolve this by
appropriately requiring that out-of-state athletes file in the
home state of their team, rather than in California.
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ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents argue that this bill is
fundamentally unfair, as the costs of the athletes' workers'
compensation coverage are paid out of salary cap, which limits
available salaries for players. Opponents also note that the
workers' compensation claims made by out-of-state players do not
impact California taxpayers and only have a limited impact on
CIGA that the athletes are willing to take on. Additionally,
opponents argue this bill creates additional state liabilities,
as injured players in California without access to California's
workers' compensation system will need state assistance.
Opponents also argue that the retroactivity of this bill is
fundamentally unjust and note that the "Joe Montana Exception"
sets too high a bar for most injured players to reach.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 61-4, 5/2/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos,
Chau, Ch�vez, Conway, Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eggman, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto,
Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Quirk-Silva,
Salas, Stone, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NOES: Blumenfield, Roger Hern�ndez, Nazarian, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Atkins, Bonta, Chesbro, Fong, Grove,
Holden, Jones, Lowenthal, V. Manuel P�rez, Skinner, Ting,
Wieckowski, Williams, Vacancy
PQ:d 9/5/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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