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April 2012 News
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May 2012 News

Workers Comp 5.16

The Erosion of Workers Compensation Reimbursement and Patient Choice Undoubtedly, physicians have heard the grumblings of their patients.  Health insurance premiums continue to rise, and patients are exposed to higher financial burdens.  First, they bear an increased expense in contributing to the portion of the premium not paid by their employer. 

Female Farmworkers Abuse: Migrant Workers Commonly Suffer Sexual Assault And Harassment, Human Rights Group Says  Farmworker women across the United States are commonly sexual harassed and assaulted, in part because their immigration status makes them fearful of calling police, according to a report being released Wednesday by Human Rights Watch.

State News 5.16

Fitch on new California budget problems: Don't panic  A Wall Street rating agency on Tuesday called California's new, eye-catchingly large $16-billion deficit "unsurprising" and said it expected little progress until after primary elections next month.

Questions swirl around Jerry Brown's plan to cut state workers' hours  One day after Gov. Jerry Brown proposed sweeping changes to state government work schedules, many employees were still deciphering what it means for them.

Walters: California politicians bet big  Poker players often use the phrase "betting on the come" to describe a willingness, if instincts and odds indicate, to wager big on the hope that they will draw winning cards.

Calbuzz Classics: How to Think About Budget Mess  Watching the sad spectacle of Governor Gandalf yet again expounding on California’s budget horrors Monday was like going to see one of those dreadful, anemic sequels to a long-ago tapped-out blockbuster franchise.

Workers Comp 5.15

California Subcontractors Welcome News Of Apprehended Owners And Employees Using Phony Names And Phony Claims Building a facade to avoid tax obligations ultimately caught up with construction businessman, George Osumi II,

Kaiser Permanente, union announce labor contract Kaiser Permanente and a coalition of unions have reached a tentative three-year labor agreement including a companywide Total Health program to reduce the health care provider's own medical costs. The announced deal would affect nearly 10,000 Kaiser emplo

Evaluating and Negotiating Workers’ Compensation Claims Closing a workers’ compensation claim  involves a two-step process: evaluation and negotiation.  On Ringler Radio, host Larry Cohen joins colleague, Teddy Snyder, Esq. and Attorney Sylvia Lopez from Bakersfield, California, to talk about closing workers’

Calif. Bill Would Grant Work Permits to Illegals A coalition of liberal Democratic lawmakers and conservative ranchers is trying to build support in California for a bill that would grant work permits to thousands of illegal immigrants already working in the state.

Boxer presses NRC on questions at Calif nuke plant California Sen. Barbara Boxer is pushing federal regulators for details about the troubled steam generators at the idled San Onofre nuclear power plant.

Cincinnati Bengals want workers comp order upheld that moves claims from California to Ohio The Cincinnati Bengals are asking a federal judge to enforce an order that requires dozens of former players to move their workers comp claims from California to Ohio.

State News 5.15

Optimistic projections led to dramatic surge in California budget deficit  Gov. Jerry Brown announced Monday that the state budget deficit had grown by a remarkable 70 percent since January, but fiscal experts said the economy had little to do with it.

Jerry Brown's plea to voters: 'Please increase taxes temporarily'  Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal for closing California's $16-billion funding gap includes 4-day state workweeks and Medi-Cal cuts. He warns that cuts will be even more severe if voters reject tax hikes on the November ballot.

Workers Comp 5.14

California DWC Posts WCIS Administrative Penalty Regs For Comment The Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) has drafted regulations providing for the assessment of administrative penalties for Workers’ Compensation Information System (WCIS) reporting violations and posted them to the online forum where members of the public may review and comment on the proposal.

Report: Workers’ Compensation Premium Grows But Market Results Still ‘Conflicted’ Workers’ compensation premium grew by 7.4 percent in 2011, a positive sign for the state of the line. However, the combine ratio for the workers’ comp line remains at an unsustainable level, according to a new report.

Grower loses bid to avoid re-hiring fired worker A California raspberry grower has lost a court bid to avoid re-hiring a farm worker fired for union activity. The Santa Cruz Sentinel

Kaiser Permanente, unions agree to 3-year national contract Health provider Kaiser Permanente and a coalition of unions of its workers reached agreement on a three-year contract early Saturday that covers wages, benefits and wellness programs for employees.

Plan To Legalize California Workers Facing Hurdles Over the last two years, six states in the United States have raised questions of constitutionality by approving laws designed to make it harder for illegal immigrants to live and work in the U.S. Now, the state with the largest population of undocumented workers is poised to focus the spotlight on immigrations but at the opposite end of the spectrum from the other six states.

California DWC Appoints Dr. Rupali Das As Executive Medical Director  The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) today announced the appointment of Dr. Rupali Das to the position of executive medical director for DWC.

State News 5.14

State's swelling deficit will bring painful cuts. Where to start?  Gov. Jerry Brown's announcement that the state's deficit has swelled to $16 billion (from a $9.2-billion estimate in January) means that a new array of budget cuts are likely. But where to cut?

Dan Walters Daily: Lawmakers fiddle while Californians vote VIDEO: Dan Walters

Workers Comp 5.11

Workers' Compensation E-Billing Webcasts Will Drive Industrywide Engagement A national electronic billing (eBill) engagement campaign is now underway to empower workers' compensation Practice Management Vendors, Physician Practices and Payers.  Free webcasts in May are part of a vital educational campaign from the American Medical Association (AMA), the California Medical Association (CMA) and California Orthopaedic Association (COA), with participation by the California Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) and Jopari Solutions, a principal supplier of integrated medical transaction electronic data interchange (EDI) services to the Property and Casualty Industry. 

California immigration plan to legalize workers faces hurdles In the past two years, Arizona and five other red states made national waves and raised constitutional questions by passing laws designed to crack down on illegal immigration. Now, lawmakers in the biggest blue state are poised to focus the immigration spotlight in another direction.

California may ban employers from asking for Facebook passwords The state Assembly passes a bill that would make anything workers designate as private on social networks off-limits to employers.

State News 5.11

Jerry Brown submits tax-hike petitions  Gov. Jerry Brown and backers of his tax initiative submitted petitions Thursday to county elections officials they said contain nearly twice the number of signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot, but the governor acknowledged the measure isn't a cure-all and warned he will unveil "severe" new cuts to state spending next week.

Gov. Jerry Brown warns more budget cuts are coming Brown issued the warning while delivering boxes of petitions to election officials requesting that his proposed tax hike be placed on the November ballot.

Workers Comp 5.10

California Department of Transportation Honors 178 Workers Killed On The Job At its 22nd Annual Workers Memorial today, California Department of Transportation honored its 178 employees who lost their lives on the job, including three San Diego-area workers who were killed in separate incidents last year.

Workers compensation market ‘conflicted' despite economy's rebound: NCCI News and analysis about the legislative, legal and insurance market issues that affect workers compensation managers, as well as strategies for reducing comp claims and costs, promoting workplace safety and returning injured employees to work.

California: Costs for spine disorders exceed average costs for all injuries  Spine disorders with spinal cord or root involvement account for 1.4 percent of all California job injury claims, but nearly 7 percent of all workers' comp paid losses. The California Workers' Compensation Institute also reports that more than two-thirds of these injuries result in permanent disability.

Jerry Brown appoints Caltrans chief, honors workers  Gov. Jerry Brown today defended the work of the public sector as that which "ties us together," speaking at a memorial for Caltrans employees killed while working last year.

California Immigration Plan to Legalize Workers Faces Hurdles If Manuel Perez can persuade Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Legislature to take a stand, California could be the next state to insert itself into the national immigration debate by adopting a role that belongs to the federal government.

State News 5.10

Jerry Brown tells unions state payroll costs need to come down  State workers' pay is back on the budget chopping block. Officials representing Gov. Jerry Brown met with state employee union leaders last week and delivered the news: A budget revision he'll release Monday includes a new proposal to cut payroll costs in the upcoming fiscal year.

On gay marriage, Obama and Californians in sync?  Perhaps President Obama is, deep down, a Californian ... at least on same-sex marriage.

Workers Comp 5.09

Bay Area Business Owners, Employee Nailed For Workers’ Comp Fraud Sied “Mike Zarrin” Zarrinsaray, 52, his wife Ronak Barazandeh, 43, the owners of United RMR Enterprises, Inc. of San Jose, were arrested for workers’ compensation insurance fraud, according to the California Department of Insurance.

California farm workers a vital asset to be protected Firebaugh, Calif., melon grower Joe L. Del Bosque takes special interest when the subject is farm workers, since he employees about 900 seasonal workers each year on his farm and packing shed, as well as for his farm labor contracting business.

State News 5.09

California senators announce plan for keeping state parks open  Democratic state Sens. Joe Simitian and Noreen Evans today rolled out a proposal aimed at keeping the gates open at more than 50 California state parks set to close this summer.

Walters: California government reformers face gut check on ballot proposal  California's political dysfunction is now an accepted fact, and as noted here previously, reform has become something of a cottage industry.

Riggs: Facebook, California's Number-One Frenemy  Initial stock sale offers both reward and risk for state's troubled treasury.

Morain: Profits up, deficit rising – blame tax breaks  In California, corporate profits are not merely up. They are "booming," the Legislative Analyst's Office reported not long ago.

Workers Comp 5.08

Lawyer Says Perkins Coie Makes the Staff Bear Its Costs International law firm Perkins Coie docks paychecks for costs that employers are required to bear, such as workers' compensation and "accounting fees," a federal class claims.

State News 5.08

Molly Munger says she and Jerry Brown could work together on tax measures  The high-pressure game of signature gathering outside stores has turned into a mad dash to election offices across California as tax proponents submit their petitions for the November ballot.

Walters: California needs huge investment to create jobs  California is struggling to emerge from the worst recession since the Great Depression and has more than 2 million unemployed workers, plus countless others who have given up seeking work out of frustration and/or have fled to other states.

Workers Comp 5.07

Average California Workers' Comp Indemnity Hits $66,922 in 2011 Among other data, the California Workers' Compensation Institute estimates that workers' comp insurers expect to pay out $8.4 billion in claims for accident year 2011, which is an eight-year high. The average cost of a California workers compensation indemnity claim edged up slightly to reach a record high of $66,922 for 2011, a California Workers' Compensation Institute bulletin states.

My Journey to Sacramento for Justice in the Warehouse Industry My name is Santos Castaneda and I am a warehouse worker in Chino, CA. I unload containers full of shoes shipped from China, and load them into trailers that carry them to your local Walmart store. I have worked here for three years at minimum wage through a staffing agency in hot, dangerous conditions.

California a right-to-work state? Stop effort now There is a sneaky initiative on the November ballot that would put California on its way to higher poverty and lower wages. Dubbed the "Stop Special Interest Money Now Act," this initiative could increase the number of uninsured workers, double the wage gap, and cut your annual income by almost $6,000.

State News 5.07

Walters: Upcoming tax battle could be a nasty feud  Let's get ready to rumble. In this corner is California Gov. Jerry Brown. In that corner is Molly Munger, a very wealthy civil rights attorney.

For chronically unemployed, more bad news in California  With her anti-poverty budget stretched beyond its limits, Brenda Callahan-Johnson is braced for next Saturday: the day California's chronically unemployed will be cut off from the nation's jobless benefits.

Workers Comp 5.04

Confirmation Of California DIR Director & DWC Admin Director Approved By Senate Rules Committee The California Senate Rules Committee recently voted unanimously to confirm the appointment of Christine Baker as the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). Also receiving unanimous approval for confirmation was Rosa Moran as the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC).

Should athletes get workers’ comp for road game injuries? Maryland’s high court is considering whether professional football players who play for teams in the state can claim workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained at out-of-state games.

Unions falter in fighting benefit cuts  Pushed to the margins of the U.S. economy, labor unions like the one representing Northern California's grocery workers are engaged in an epic struggle to preserve their members' wages and benefits. For the most part, they're losing.

State News 5.04

Jerry Brown says tax signatures in hand  Gov. Jerry Brown said this afternoon that he has collected enough signatures to qualify his tax initiative for the November ballot. "We should have them all," the Democratic governor told reporters after speaking to a business group in San Jose.

Walters: Annual budget game beginning now in California  Darrell Steinberg is a baseball fanatic, but when he said this week that "the season is beginning," he wasn't talking about sports, or at least not games played on grass.

Workers Comp 5.03

Confirmation of DIR Director & DWC Administrative Director Approved by Senate Rules Committee The Senate Rules Committee today voted unanimously to confirm the appointment of Christine Baker as the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). Also receiving unanimous approval for confirmation was Rosa Moran as the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC).

SEIU drops initiatives as part of California hospital accord A labor union that pushed a pair of ballot measures to rein in excessive hospital billing and expand healthcare for the poor has dropped them -- in exchange for an agreement that, among other things, enlists the hospital industry in the union's organizing efforts.

State News 5.03

Brown's tax hike finishes signature gathering  Supporters of Governor Jerry Brown's tax increase initiative believe they've got the signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot, less than seven weeks after hitting the streets.

Skelton: California's truly loopy tax loophole  Giving companies doing business in California a tax incentive not to hire or invest here is costing the state $1 billion a year. It's time to change the law.

Long-term unemployed to lose benefits  Some 93,000 Californians are expected to lose their unemployment benefits next week. The reason is the improving economy.

Workers Comp 5.02

Thousands march in Oakland in May Day protest  Thousands marched throughout Oakland Tuesday in a kaleidoscopic variety of protests ranging from skirmishes with police to dancing, chanting throngs of demonstrators peacefully waving signs calling for an end to economic inequality and a strengthening of worker rights.

Raley's Unionized Workers Consider Strike Raley's and its workers belonging to the United Food and Commercial Workers union have been negotiating for seven months.  That includes five contract extensions.  Now, Raleys says no more. The West Sacramento-based chain is preparing to present its "last, best and final offer."

CRMBC investigation leads to arrest of suspect on 5 Felony Counts of Fraud The California Restaurant Mutual Benefit Corporation (CRMBC) announced today that the Los Angeles County District Attorney has arrested Emmanuel de Paz on three felony counts of insurance fraud and two felony counts of attempted perjury in connection to an alleged work injury filed as an employee of the El Gallo Giro Corporation.

Dozens rally for workers' rights: Students, laborers stand together to pressure university To mark International Workers Day, students and UC Santa Cruz laborers rallied Tuesday from the heart of campus to the edge of downtown in demonstrations that drew far fewer participants than in recent years.

UCLA students advocate for stronger student-worker bond with May Day march Amid blue and yellow balloons and people wearing “I Heart UCLA” shirts, a group of students in the middle of Bruin Plaza stood out.

State News 5.02

California tax revenue $3 billion less than target, report says  The legislative analyst’s office has a new number that is adding to California’s financial headache: $3 billion. That’s the total amount that tax revenue has lagged behind goals set by Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration in the current fiscal year.

Workers Comp 5.01

PMSI: Narcotics use among injured workers drops in 2011  The use of narcotics among workers' comp claimants with an injury that was one year old or less has decreased, according to a new report. PMSI says that was a contributing factor to the overall 1.7 percent decrease in the use of narcotic analgesics among its client companies, as measured by morphine equivalents per injured worker per day.

Bay Area May Day Has Begun; Live Twitter Coverage May Day is here, and a day of protests and actions around the Bay Area are planned. The morning ferry commute for North Bay denizens headed to San Francisco has already been cancelled due to a labor action by workers in a dispute over health care, and last night in the Mission car windows were broken and the police station on Valencia Street was vandalized by a group of protesters.

Killer Jobs: Policing America’s Dangerous Workplaces According to US Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, more people die in the American workplace in a single year than have been lost in nine years of war in Iraq. “Each day in America, twelve people go to work and never go home,” she told the audience at the Action Summit for Worker Safety and Health held at East Los Angeles Community College on April 26, one of many events leading up to Workers Memorial Day, April 28, an annual date of remembrance for those killed, injured, or sickened on the job.

Will May Day Protests Rejuvenate the Occupy Movement?  From April 9-15, thousands of Occupy activists got direct action training in preparation for the “99% Spring.” The goal is recapturing Occupy’s momentum, with a greater focus on targeting specific corporate wrongdoing.

California rating bureau seeks midyear premium increase  An increase in the volume of liens, higher frequency, and the sluggish pace of economic recovery are some of the reasons the California Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau cited for its requested 4.1 percent July rate hike.

Golden Gate ferry workers strike, protesters gather for May Day actions May Day actions in the Bay Area began with a strike by ferry workers early Tuesday in the North Bay, stranding commuters who usually take a boat to work.

State News 5.01

Walters: Former lawmaker Dan Boatwright was colorful in all ways  Many politicians are described as "colorful," but it was literally true about Dan Boatwright.