3-12-04 - This day's Council session
3-12-04 - Ref to Audits and Governmental Efficiency and Personnel Committees
3-12-04 - File to Audits and Governmental Efficiency Committee Clerk
3-19-04 - Council Action - Motion ADOPTED to APPROVE Personnel Committee report recommendations, and communication from Audits and Governmental Efficiency Committee, subject to the approval of the Mayor to:
ADOPT the accompanying RESOLUTION to include in the City's 2003-04 State Legislative Program SUPPORT for the following workers' compensation reform proposals:
a. Reform the penalty system in Labor Code Section 5814 so that penalties are applied solely to the late payment and the amount of the penalty takes into account the actual burden incurred by the injured employee as a result of the delay.
b. Require physicians to provide clear and job specific, temporary work restrictions to employers to allow greater opportunities for injured employees to return to either regular or modified work.
c. Allow greater flexibility for partnering with existing health insurance programs to provide medical services for injured employees, streamlining the delivery of employee medical benefits.
d. Revise the permanent disability rating and apportionment systems to provide uniform standards for work-related disabilities that take into account employees' ability to perform their current jobs, limit duplicate awards for the same injury and cap permanent disability ratings to 100 percent.
e. Provide all industries with the option to implement alternative dispute resolution programs to avoid unnecessary and costly litigation of workers' compensation claims.
f. Expand access to workers' compensation records under Insurance Code Section 1877.1(a) to City Attorney prosecutors and law enforcement personnel so that they can prosecute workers' compensation fraud more effectively.
g. Expand the existing grant program for workers' compensation fraud as provided in Insurance Code Section 1872.83, to allow the City Attorney to compete for grant funds to assist in workers' compensation insurance fraud prosecution.
3-22-04 - File to Mayor FORTHWITH
3-22-04 - For ref - Communication from Chief Legislative Analyst 04-03-0381 relative to Workers' Compensation Legislation Reform.
3-23-04 - Ref to Audits and Governmental Efficiency and Personnel Committees - to Audits and Governmental Efficiency Committee Clerk
3-25-04 - Mayor's message concurred in action of March 19, 2004
3-26-04 - File to Calendar Clerk
4-6-04 - File in files
4-16-04 - This day's Council session - Motion - Zine Mover 2004 / Parks - After months of negotiations in Sacramento, a compromise package of reforms to the workers' compensation system appears to have been agreed upon by the State legislature. The changes contained in SB 899 (Poochigian) are expected to save billions of dollars for businesses, non-profit organizations an Id governments throughout California. The City of Los Angeles was expected to spend $160 million on workers' compensation in the coming fiscal year and will now share in the financial relief provided by these~ modifications.
On March 19, 2004, the City Council adopted a resolution supporting numerous workers' compensation reform provisions that Were expected to save approximately $30 million annually (Council File 04-0002-S46). With the pending, adoption of the final reform package, a comparison of the proposed changes, versus the recommendations from the City of Los Angeles, would be useful. Additionally, an updated financial analysis of the anticipated savings from the new legislation would be beneficial in more accurately forecasting the city's workers' compensation costs for the upcoming budget process.
THEREFORE MOVE that the Personnel Department be instructed to report back to the Personnel Committee with a review of the workers' compensation reform provisions in SB 899 (Poochigian), including a comparison with the recommended proposal adopted by the Los Angeles City Council (Council File 04-0002-S46).
FURTHER MOVE that the Personnel Department be instructed to report back to the Personnel and Budget Committees with a revised financial analysis of the anticipated cost savings that will be realized with the implementation of the workers' compensation reforms contained in SB 899 (Poochigian).
4-16-04 - Ref to Personnel and Budget and Finance Committees
4-16-04 - File to Personnel Committee Clerk
6-11-04 - For ref - Communication from the Personnel Department relative to Senate Bill 899 - Workers' Compensation Legislative Reforms and the anticipated financial impact on the City's Workers' Compensation Program.
6-15-04 - Ref to Personnel and Budget and Finance Committees - to Personnel Committee Clerk
11-10-05 - For ref - Communications from the Mayor, dated November 8, 2005, and Personnel Department, dated November 2, 2005, relative to the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for workers' compensation disputes.
11-10-05 - Ref to Personnel and Budget and Finance Committees - to Personnel Committee Clerk
1-25-06 - File to Budget and Finance Committee Clerk
4-19-06 - Council Action - Budget and Finance Committee report ADOPTED to:
1. AUTHORIZE the General Manager of the Personnel Department to release a Request for Proposal for a one-year pilot ADR Program for workers' compensation disputes.
2. INSTRUCT the Personnel Department to report back to the Council with a recommendation for the selection of a contractor for the one-year pilot ADR Program prior to executing a contract which would be subject to City Attorney review as to form and legality, with the authorization amount and source of funding to be determined upon Council approval of the ADR contract and contractor.
4-28-06 - File to Budget and Finance Committee Clerk OK
5-2-06 - File in files