Pocket Guide to Workers’ Compensation in California (2nd ed., 2014)

$27.00

By Juliann Sum
Updated by John Holstedt and Eric Ledger
2nd edition, 2014

147 in stock

SKU: WCOM14 Categories: ,

Description

The Pocket Guide to Workers’ Compensation in California gives an overview of workers’ compensation law and procedure. It provides a brief history of the law and a summary of citations to applicable statutes, regulations, and precedent cases. The guide includes pertinent resources, a glossary, and an index of terms.

The guide covers:

    • Stages of a compensation claim
    • Benefits
    • Rights and obligations
    • Labor-management carve-outs
    • Rights of employees whose employers are illegally uninsured
    • How workers’ compensation law relates to disability rights laws, job-protected leave laws, and public benefits.

The guide is a valuable reference and training tool, and helpful to anyone who needs to understand the workers’ comp process in both the public and private sectors in California.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

I. Scope and Operation of the Workers’ Compensation System 1
    A. Introduction 1
    B. California workers’ compensation laws apply to most injuries
and illnesses caused by employment		 2
    C. Injured workers may not sue the employer in court, and
benefits are limited		 3
    D. Employers are required to have insurance 4
    E. Coverage of post-termination claims is limited 4
    F. Coverage of psychiatric injuries is limited 5
    G. Sleep dysfunction and sexual dysfunction claims also limited 6
    H. Five categories of benefits are paid 6
    I. Administrative law judges adjudicate disputes 7
II. Preliminary Rights and Responsibilities 8
    A. Employers and workers can prevent injuries and illnesses 8
    B. Some workers may predesignate their personal physician 8
    C. Employers and unions may create labor-management carve-outs 10
III. Requesting Benefits After Injury 11
    A. The injured worker should inform the employer and get emergency
treatment if needed		 11
    B. Filing a claim form preserves the injured worker’s rights 12
    C. Employees of illegally uninsured employers may sue the employer
and apply for Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund benefits		 14
    D. Presumptions of compensability apply to public safety officers 15
IV. Medical Care 15
    A. Employers and providers may not collect payment from an injured
worker for medical care		 17
    B. Scientifically based medical treatment guidelines govern care 17
    C. Claims administrators must promptly authorize treatment 18
    D. The primary treating physician has a role in determining benefits 19
    E. How the initial primary treating physician is selected depends on
whether the worker predesignated and whether there is a medical
provider network (MPN) or health care organization (HCO)		 19
    F. The injured worker’s rights to switch primary treating
physiciansdepend on whether the worker is being treated in an
MPN or HCO and whether the worker predesignated		 21
    G. Disputes over out-of network medical treatment 22
V. Resolving Problems with Medical Care and Medical Reports 24
    A. An injured worker may discuss concerns with a treating physician
or switch physicians		 24
    B. Steps to dispute a treating physician’s opinion about necessary
care depend on whether the injured worker is being treated in
an MPN or HCO		 24
    C. Decisions to authorize care are made in a utilization review (UR)
process, followed by an Independent Medical Review (IMR)
appeal process		 25
    D. The injured worker has the right to challenge a decision denying
treatment		 26
    E. The injured worker and the claims administrator may dispute a
treating physician’s opinion on matters other than treatment		 27
    F. A medical evaluation is required to dispute an opinion by a treating
physician or a decision to deny care		 28
VI. Temporary Disability Benefits 30
    A. Temporary disability (TD) benefits are paid to injured workers who
are disabled while recovering		 30
    B. Payment amounts depend on lost wages 31
    C. TD benefits are paid on a schedule 31
    D. Penalties are payable for delays 32
    E. When TD payments end is based on the worker’s medical
condition, return to work, or duration of payments		 32
VII. Working After Injury 34
    A. Workers’ compensation law prohibits discrimination against
workers with job injuries		 34
    B. The treating physician determines work capacities and restrictions 35
    C. The employer may reduce its liability for certain benefits by offering
work		 35
    D. Actions taken in a workers’ compensation claim do not eliminate
rights and obligations under disability rights laws		 37
VIII. Permanent Disability Benefits 40
    A. Permanent disability (PD) benefits are paid to workers who
will always be limited in their ability to work		 40
    B. Benefits depend in part on a medical report 41
    C. The worker’s disability is given a permanent disability rating 41
    D. Payment amounts depend on ratings of the disability, date of
injury, pre-injury wages, and whether the employer offers work		 43
    E. PD benefits are paid on a schedule 43
    F. Penalties are payable for delays 44
    G. PD benefits are commonly settled 44
XI. Supplemental Job Displacement Benefits 46
    A. A supplemental job displacement benefit (SJDB) is a voucher
that promises to pay for educational retraining or skill
enhancement		 46
    B. Benefit amounts depend on the worker’s permanent disability
rating		 47
    C. Voucher expiration date 47
X. Sources of Further Information and Help 48
    A. California agencies 48
    B. Reference materials 49
XI. Glossary 50
XII. Index 61

Additional information

Weight 0.625 lbs
Dimensions 10 × 6 × 0.5 in

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