Workers’ Compensation Law

On March 30, the longtime director of the California Department of Industrial Relations, Christine Baker, announced her retirement after 34 years of service. Baker is known for accomplishing major reforms to curb workers’ compensation fraud and reduce painkiller prescriptions. In her retirement announcement letter, Baker wrote, “Since our major reforms to workers’ compensation in 2012, […]

In our present political situation, federal and state laws sometimes contradict each other. Currently, President Trump’s strict immigration policies are at odds with California’s “sanctuary state” policy. The state’s policy gives protections to undocumented immigrants and limits cooperation of local and state officers with federal immigration authorities. About 9% of California’s workers are believed to […]

On February 20th, a Senate committee narrowly approved a bill that would take out part of Florida law that lets employers deny benefits to injured workers who used other people’s Social Security numbers or identification to secure jobs. The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee approved the bill (SB 1568) that would remove a 2003 provision […]

This past Tuesday in Sacramento, California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) won Assembly approval of her bill to protect workers’ comp claims of women with work-related breast cancer. The bill also prevents doctors from considering “child-bearing age” as a factor in deciding the workers’ comp award for a female employee whose work conditions […]

Last week, a nine-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department was arrested on suspicion of workers’ comp fraud. On January 17, 2018, Jason Gordon, 48, was arrested in accordance with a felony arrest warrant for workers’ comp fraud and attempted perjury. When Gordon filed a medical claim in 2015, the LAPD’s Special Operations Division […]

Drafted amendments to a year-old workers’ compensation bill meant to increase coverage to workers would cover California day laborers hired on a one-time basis. The bill, A.B. 206, introduced in January 2017 by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-Chula Vista, was amended last week to include mandates for workers comp coverage for a “person, including a day […]

Workers’ Comp Could Cover PTSD

Last week, legislation to extend workers’ compensation benefits to cover post-traumatic stress disorder for firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, and first responders unanimously passed the first Florida Senate Committee. Currently, PTSD is only covered completely by workers’ comp in Florida if a worker suffers a mental injury along with a physical injury that needs treatment. Advocates argue […]