Senate Hearing Highlights wide Rift in Reforms Assessment

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A three-hour Senate hearing aimed at evaluating the successes and remaining challenges of implementing the 2012 workers' compensation reforms revealed a sharp difference of opinion about the system, with applicants and their attorneys on one side and employers and state regulators on the other. Administration officials and employer representatives see Senate Bill 863 as an overall win. By identifying inefficiencies in the system, the bill found a way to increase permanent disability by nearly $1 billion without increasing the already high premiums charged to sta...