The California Association of Joint Power Authorities (CAJPA) will host their fall conference September 12-15 in Lake Tahoe, California. This event is a space for over 1,000 pooling professionals from all across the state to connect with general mana…
On May 12, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the next round of COVID-19 response legislation. The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act with over 1,800 pages and a $3 trillion price tag includes labor and em…
Last week, the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC) held its 105th convention in Pittsburgh. The IAIABC is an association of workers’ compensation jurisdictional regulatory agencies and industry stakeholder…
Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5: Gonzalez; D-San Diego), which was recently passed by the California legislature and just signed into law Wednesday by Governor Gavin Newsom, will fundamentally change much of California’s gig economy, including how gig wor…
Disasters are unfortunately becoming commonplace news stories. Many people are dealing with tragic losses in the wake of both man-made and natural disasters. The recent fires that have ravaged California are now among the most devastating in U.S. his…
The 2018 CAT season has started with a vengeance. Already, we are seeing damage from flooding, earthquakes and a volcano in Hawaii. On top of that, hurricane season will soon be underway, the potential increases for droughts and related fires, and we…
A recent ruling by the California Court of Appeal (Castro-Ramirez v. Dependable Highway Express, Inc. (2016) 2 Cal. App. 5th 1028) increases the sphere of influence of the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to include reasonable accommo…
According to 2015 U.S. Coast Guard statistics, May through September is the peak period for recreational boating accidents. Florida, Minnesota, Michigan, and California lead the nation in the number of registered boats while Florida regularly leads t…
Time spent at RIMS is always worthwhile. We are fortunate to enjoy many opportunities to connect with friends, clients, colleagues and other industry partners, and it has been a pleasure spending time in San Diego this year. However, in the midst o…
Recently there has been a lot of discussion – in the media and throughout the industry – about the California independent medical review (IMR) process. Introduced to the workers’ compensation system in California as part of Senate Bill 863, IMR serve…
The wheels are slowly turning across the nation as state workers’ compensation regulatory agencies and state legislators focus on how to best respond to the prescription drug abuse epidemic and gain more control. Implementing a closed formulary is …
Medical directors with California-based hospital systems recently met for a discussion focused on the quality of medical care provided to Sedgwick workers’ compensation clients. We covered many areas, including provider scoring, fraud, legal challe…
Last week at the California Workers’ Compensation and Risk Conference, we were fortunate to hear James “Big Game” Worthy, NBA Hall of Fame member and three time NBA champion, deliver the keynote address. The standing-room-only crowd was treated to a …
Fixing broken workers' compensation systems is far from easy. There are multiple agendas, complex legislation and competing needs – and often conflicting demands lead to "solutions" that seem to worsen the problem. But still we try; and we should an…
Did you know that California is one of only five states in the nation – along with Hawaii, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island – with a mandatory disability insurance program? In California, the State Disability Insurance (SDI) "State Plan" is fu…