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Archives: 2015-16 Legislative Session

2015 Hearings

Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations

2015 Year-End Oversight Report

 

The State of the Employment Development Department: An Update on Challenges and Successes

March 4, 2015 (Sacramento)

The Employment Development Department provides critical services to the people of California. Unfortunately, during the last several years it has faced many challenges from delays in its service centers answering the phones to delays in processing unemployment benefits due to an outdated computer system. At this oversight hearing, the Committee heard from the State Auditor regarding a 2014 audit on EDD which highlighted several challenges facing the department. EDD leadership had the opportunity to respond to the audit as well as update the Committee on action taken to address the technological struggles they have faced. In addition, the Committee heard from the Legislative Analyst’s Office and the CA Budget Project on the status of the economy and recovery from the recession.

 

With the information gathered at the oversight hearing, Committee members were able to update their District Offices on upcoming technological updates to the claimant online portal in order to be better prepared for any potential increase of calls from their constituents. 

 

 

Opportunities and Challenges in California’s Workers’ Compensation System: A Discussion on the Progress and Remaining Questions Surrounding S.B. 863 (Statutes of 2012)

March 25, 2015 (Sacramento)

Senate Bill 863 (DeLeon) of 2012 is an innovative reform of California’s workers’ compensation system, designed to reduce frictional costs, speed up the provision of medical treatment, and increase disability payments to California’s most seriously injured workers. During this oversight hearing, the Committee heard from a panel of experts on how the reforms are performing, as well as a broad cross-section of workers’ compensation stakeholders on the impacts of SB 863. The Committee also heard testimony from the Department of Industrial Relations and the Division of Workers’ Compensation on the progress and remaining challenges of implementing SB 863.

After hearing from multiple stakeholders on the need for increased utilization of electronic records, the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) committed to studying how to increase the use of electronic records to speed up medical dispute resolution. The DWC will be reporting their progress to stakeholders later this month.

 

 

Eliminating Barriers and Challenges for Working Women in California

October 7, 2015 (San Francisco)

Over the last few years the Legislature has passed landmark legislation for the women and girls in California.  Despite these impressive advancements, there are still significant barriers for working women in the state. At this oversight hearing, the Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations convened an oversight hearing with stakeholders, advocates, and leading researchers to discuss significant barriers for working women, such as scheduling child care arrangements with unpredictable schedules, societal and institutional barriers to higher paying nontraditional jobs, and the gender wage gap, as well as and potential policy measures to eliminate them.  These potential future policy solutions included increasing accessibility to quality child care, encouraging family-friendly policies including paid family leave, and promoting predictable scheduling.  The oversight hearing also provided a legislative update on the A Stronger California campaign, which seeks to address historical inequalities among women throughout California.

 

 

Local Factors, Statewide Impacts: A Discussion on the Dynamics Shaping Workers’ Compensation in Los Angeles and the LA Basin

December 2, 2015 (Downey)

While California’s workers’ compensation system generally strikes an equitable balance between the needs and responsibilities of workers and employers, in Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles Basin, the system has often demonstrated strain and inefficiency.  The purpose of this hearing was to analyze how the workers’ compensation system functions in the Greater Los Angeles region, and to attempt to identify troubling issues in this system. Among the issues discussed were medical costs for employers and insurers, the indemnity benefit structure in California, and disputes over authorizations for medical treatment.  Specifically, this hearing analyzed the Los Angeles region’s higher propensity for workers’ compensation and indemnity claims as well as the rising costs associated with its outsized volume of Independent Medical Review requests.

The Committee heard from the Division of Workers’ Compensation and established experts on research describing regional trends in workers’ compensation, the County of Los Angeles on how the workers’ compensation system impacts local governance, and stakeholders on their experiences navigating the workers’ compensation system in the Los Angeles region. These panels began important conversations, hopefully opening the door to reforms and innovations that will ensure that balance and fairness for injured workers and employers in the Los Angeles region continues to be maintained by California’s workers’ compensation system.

 

Detailed background and materials for each hearing are available below. 

 

March 4, 2015 Oversight Hearing

The State of the Employment Development Department: An Update on Challenges and Successes

March 25, 2015 Oversight Hearing

Opportunities and Challenges in California's Workers' Compensation System: A Discussion on the Progress and Remaining Questions Surrounding S.B. 863 (Statutes of 2012)

 

October 7, 2015 Oversight Hearing

Eliminating Barriers and Challenges for Working Women in California

 

December 2, 2015 Oversight Hearing

A Discussion on the Dynamics Shaping Workers' Compensation in Los Angeles and the LA Basin

Committee Address

1020 N Street, Room 545
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-1556
Fax: (916) 327-5703

Staff

Principal Consultants: Gideon L. Baum, Alma Perez
Consultant: Brandon P. Seto
Assistant: Martha Gutierrez