Death Benefit Expansion, Farmworker Presumption Head to Governor

California lawmakers voted to send Gov. Gavin Newsom bills expanding workers’ compensation coverage for farmworkers with heat injuries and dependents of fallen first responders. Also on Thursday, the Senate passed an amended bill directing the Division of Workers’ Compensation to create medical-legal templates for qualified medical evaluators. The Assembly voted 61-17 to concur with Senate amendments and send the governor AB 1336, which would create a presumption that a heat injury is compensable when the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board finds that an agricultural emp...