Grinberg: Does AB 1213 Veto Make Us Safe for Now?

Friday, October 20, 2023 | 0

A while back, I had the pleasure of discussing the poison Assembly Bill 1213 with you because Sacramento was intent on squeezing even more out of California’s battered and besieged employers.

Gregory Grinberg

What AB 1213 intended to do was extend temporary disability for the period between utilization review denial and independent medical review reversal. In other words, if applicant was on temporary disability for two months between the UR denial and the ultimate IMR reversal, those two months of TD would not count toward the 104-week TD cap, and applicant could potentially receive two years and two months of TD. 

AB 1213 passed in the Senate 62-8 on May 2, and then in the Assembly 30-9 on Sept. 11. 

Now, you might be asking yourself: Where’s the good news? Well, the good news is that on Oct. 8, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed AB 1213, which means that, despite all the effort, it will NOT become law any time soon.

Now that I’ve lured you in with the good news, not unlike Pennywise with a paper boat, let’s take a look at some unfortunate realities. 

The California Legislature overwhelmingly passed this monstrosity of a bill and will likely do so again in the near future. When it does, will Newsom’s resolve remain firm?

Mark my words, dear readers: At the rate we’re going, my April Fools’ Day post might become reality before too long.

Gregory Grinberg is managing partner of the Tobin Lucks office in Burlingame and a certified specialist in workers’ compensation law. This post is reprinted with permission from Grinberg’s WCDefenseCA blog.