| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: |
| January 25, 2001 | Christine Baker |
| (415) 703-4220 |
Commission Issues Final Report and Recommendations on
Information for Industrially-Injured Workers
SAN FRANCISCO
– At its meeting on January 24, 2001 in Los Angeles, the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) voted to approve the final report and legislative recommendations regarding information for injured workers.The Commission noted that various laws and regulations had been identified as problematic with respect to workers’ compensation benefit notices and directed that proposed statutory changes to the Labor Code be developed to address those problems.
The primary purpose of the proposed legislative changes is to make uniform the Labor Code provisions regarding notices to injured workers. The intent of the recommendations are to improve the information given to employees by employers prior to and soon after injury, information available at state Information and Assistance offices, information from claims administrators, the content and clarity of benefit notices, and the timing of some of the most problematic benefit notices. This final report updates the Commission report and recommendations issued in May 2000.
The Commission, created by the workers' compensation reform legislation of 1993, is charged with overseeing the health and safety and workers' compensation systems in California and recommending administrative or legislative modifications to improve their operation. The Commission was established to conduct a continuing examination of the workers' compensation system and of the state's activities to prevent industrial injuries and occupational diseases and to examine those programs in other states.
Information about the Commission may be accessed on the internet at the California Department of Industrial Relations' home page at www.dir.ca.gov/CHSWC. Information may also be obtained by writing to Christine Baker, Executive Officer, Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, 10th Floor, San Francisco, California 94102, by calling (415) 703-4220, or by faxing a request to (415) 703-4234.
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