Committee Passes 4 Comp Bills

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed four workers’ compensation bills, including measures that would create a hospital worker presumption and authorize attorney fees when an injured worker challenges a utilization review denial.The committee also passed bills that would authorize the Department of Industrial Relations to certify and maintain a list of interpreters for administrative hearings and medical evaluations and make retraining vouchers available earlier in the claims process. Both proposals are also included in draft legislation of a sweeping reform package oppo...