Castillo: Cutting Through the Clutter

Friday, March 8, 2019 | 1

More than 2,500 bills were introduced in the Legislature before this year's deadline. As usual, there are a number of bills related to workers' compensation. And, as usual, California Applicants' Attorneys Association has jumped into the fray with our own ideas for fixing the system.

Michael Castillo

We mentioned previously that we wouldn't take Gov. Jerry Brown's veto as the final word on fighting for equity for those injured on the job, and we meant it.

Sen. Steven Bradford. D-Gardena, introduced Senate Bill 731, CAAA-sponsored legislation to eliminate bias in apportionment. Specifically, the bill would "prohibit consideration of race, religious creed, color, national origin, age, gender, marital status, sex, sexual identity, sexual orientation or genetic characteristics to determine the approximate percentage of the permanent disability caused by other factors" before and after an industrial injury.

We also understand the profound negative impact injured workers suffer when they don't get the medical care they need after an injury. Assemblyman Kansen Chu, D-San Jose, and Assemblywoman Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-San Bernardino, co-authored CAAA-sponsored Assembly Bill 1107 to combat these ever-growing delays in care and to ensure people who suffer job-related injuries receive their benefits in a timely manner.

There are several other bills of interest we'll be monitoring over the next several weeks, some looking to support and others to defeat.

CAAA's political consultants, members and staff will be meeting with legislators to cut through the clutter and get our bills to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk, where we're hoping he'll sign them for the betterment of workers everywhere.

It's what we all want, right?

Michael Castillo is communications director for the California Applicants' Attorneys Association. This opinion is republished, with permission, from the CAAA website.