Rand Finds Mixed Results in Assessment of COVID Presumption Legislation

Rand Corp. said it is unable to provide recommendations about whether COVID-19 presumptions and other provisions in SB 1159 were the optimal response to the pandemic, but some of its findings support the approach California lawmakers took with the 2020 bill. “If the goal of SB 1159 was to encourage workers’ compensation claiming and facilitate access to benefits for workers at high risk of COVID-19, the policy appears to have served that goal,” a pre-publication copy of Rand’s report reads. “Our discussions with public health officials suggested that the groups o...