Rand Finds Half of Eligible Workers Applying for RTW Benefits, Recommends Automatic Payment

More than 28,000 permanently disabled workers in California received a $5,000 check from the Return-to-Work Supplement Program created by Senate Bill 863, but that represents slightly more than half of those who are eligible, according to a new report by the Rand Corp. Rand said in the report posted to the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation website Wednesday that the Department of Industrial Relations should consider automating the payment process so that injured workers don’t have to apply in an effort to get checks into the hands of more people. Rand...