BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 1746
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 7, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                    AB 1746 (Alejo) - As Amended:  March 20, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                               
          InsuranceVote:13-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill expedites Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB)  
          hearings for applicants suffering injury while employed by an  
          illegally uninsured employer.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor and absorbable costs to the Department of Industrial  
          Relations to determine whether employers are uninsured and,  
          correspondingly, whether employees are eligible for the  
          expedited process.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . According to the author, a disproportionate number of  
            workers whose employer is illegally uninsured are low-wage  
            workers who may not be able to afford an attorney.  Since  
            these workers do not have direct access to the medical care  
            provided by the insurer of a lawfully insured employer, these  
            injured workers must establish eligibility with the WCAB, and  
            it takes formal proceedings before this class of injured  
            worker can obtain benefits.  The bill ensures that these  
            proceedings occur expeditiously so that needed medical care  
            can be provided as timely as possible.

           2)Background  .  Current law allows the issues of employment and  
            causation to be expedited in cases where the applicant is  
            represented by counsel.  Unrepresented workers, including  
            those most likely to be employed by an uninsured employer, do  
            not have statutory access to this expedited procedure.  The  
            bill cures this anomaly whereby some of the most vulnerable  








                                                                  AB 1746
                                                                  Page  2

            employees - low-wage workers not represented by counsel who  
            are working for a bad-actor employer - do not have the benefit  
            of expedited hearings.  


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