CHSWC Requests Feedback for Working Paper

Sacramento, CA (WorkersCompensation.com) - The Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) has released on its website for public comment and feedback the Working Paper, “Identifying Permanently Disabled Workers with Disproportionate Earnings Losses for Supplemental Payments.”

In September 2012, California adopted Senate Bill (SB) 863, which includes changes in the calculation of permanent disability ratings, increases in permanent disability compensation, and a program to provide supplemental payments to injured workers for whose permanent disability benefits are disproportionately low in comparison to their earnings loss.

Prepared by RAND, and conducted by the Office of the Director, Department of Industrial Relations in consultation with CHSWC, the Working Paper presents one definition of how this program could be defined and implemented: payments can be targeted to workers whose actual measured earnings after the disability award are below what would be expected based on the severity of their disability.

The Director's office will be using RAND's findings in the development of the return-to-work program. The tentative working title of the program is the Special Earning Loss Supplement (SELS). 

CHSWC, created by the workers' compensation reform legislation of 1993, is charged with examining the health and safety and workers' compensation systems in California and recommending administrative or legislative modifications to improve their operation. CHSWC was established to conduct a continuing examination of the workers' compensation system and of the state's activities to prevent industrial injuries and occupational diseases and to examine those programs in other states. 

Information about CHSWC and the working paper is available on the CHSWC website, www.dir.ca.gov/chswc and http://www.dir.ca.gov/chswc/PublicCommentsAndFeedback.html. Information may also be obtained by writing to CHSWC at 1515 Clay Street, 17th Floor, Oakland, California, 94612; by calling (510) 622-3959; by faxing a request to (510) 622-3265; or by email to chswc@dir.ca.gov.

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