DIR Plans Extensive Study on SIBTF, Regains Hiring Authority

The California Department of Industrial Relations announced plans to conduct an in-depth study of its Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund on Thursday, the same day the state restored the department’s hiring authority roughly three years after a scandal surrounded a previous director’s departure. DIR Director Katie Hagen championed the agency’s recent progress at a Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation meeting, during which department staff outlined a proposed SIBTF study that could lead to the fund’s first significant amendments in decad...