[Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation]

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Current Activities

In response to its Labor Code mandate (Labor Code § 77 (a)), CHSWC has engaged in many studies to examine health, safety and workers' compensation systems in California. CHSWC has concentrated these efforts on areas that are most critical and of concern to the community.

CHSWC studies are conducted by independent researchers under contract with the State of California. Advisory Committees, composed of interested members of the workers' compensation community and the public, provide comments, suggestions, data and feedback.

Studies were initially formed to evaluate changes to the system after the implementation of workers' compensation legislative reforms in the early 1990's and to assess the impact on workers and employers. While that focus continues, the scope of CHSWC projects has also evolved in response to findings in the initial studies, and to concerns and interests expressed by the Legislature and the workers' compensation community.

CHSWC projects have dealt with several major areas, including informational services to injured workers, alternative workers' compensation systems, employers that are illegally uninsured for workers' compensation, the health and safety of young workers, and the impact of the reform legislation on the medical-legal process and the vocational rehabilitation program.

The most extensive and potentially far-reaching project undertaken by the Commission is the ongoing study of workers' compensation permanent disability in California. Incorporating public fact-finding hearings and discussions with studies by RAND, the CHSWC project is dealing with major policy issues regarding the way that California workers are compensated for permanent disability incurred on the job.

In its oversight capacity, CHSWC focuses on various aspects of the workers' compensation system in response to concerns raised. These include multi-jurisdictional areas such as anti-fraud activities as well as certain operations of the Division of Workers' Compensation such as the lien case workload in DWC's district offices. At the joint request of the Senate Industrial Relations Committee and the Assembly Insurance Committee, the Commission has undertaken a study of the operations and effectiveness of the DWC audit program.

These concerted efforts, combining rigorous analytical approaches with real world data and experience, have yielded insightful findings on important programs. The Commission's recommendations for system improvements are based upon the results of these activities.

The common goal of all the parties in these efforts is to achieve a system that delivers the proper benefits to injured workers in a prompt and cost-effective manner.

Listed below are the projects and studies being conducted by the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers Compensation.

In addition to its many projects, the Commission provides health and safety and workers' compensation services and materials.

These resources include a catalog of training videos and manuals developed by recipients of Commission grants awarded for the enhancement of Illness and Injury Prevention Programs (IIPP). Although the Commission no longer offers grants, all of the materials developed by grant funds are described in its Industrial Illness and Prevention Program Grant Catalog and available to the public. The CHSWC Grant Program Update/Product Availability Catalog is also available.

The Commission has compiled a listing of health and safety and workers' compensation courses available through California's state colleges and universities. The courses are indexed by type and by school and are updated each semester.

In addition, the Commission created other Safety Sites from different U.S. States, national, international, and from private entities.

A complete description of Commission activities, reports and recommendations can be found in the Commission's 1997-98 Annual Report.