Bill Text: CA SB1205 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 1205

Bill Title: Workers’ compensation: medical treatment.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-08-07 - August 7 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file. [SB1205 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB1205-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly June 27, 2024

Amended IN Senate May 16, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1205

Introduced by Senator Laird

February 15, 2024

An act to ~~add Section 4600.03 to~~ amend Section 4600 of the Labor Code, relating to workers’ compensation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1205, as amended, Laird. Workers’ compensation: medical ~~benefits.~~ treatment.

Existing law establishes a workers’ compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, to compensate an employee, as defined, for injuries ~~sustained~~ that arise out of, and in the course of of, employment. Existing law requires employers to ~~secure the payment of workers’ compensation, including wage replacement and medical treatment, for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out of, or in the course of, employment.~~ provide medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, licensed clinical social worker, and hospital treatment reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured worker from the effects of the injury.

Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for an employer to discharge, threaten to discharge, or discriminate against, or for an insurer to advise, direct, or threaten an insured to discharge, an employee because they have filed or made known their intention to file a claim for compensation, or an application for adjudication, or because the employee has received a rating, award, or settlement, as specified.
This bill would make an employee who is working entitled to receive all reasonable expenses of transportation, meals, and lodging incident to receiving treatment, in addition to one day of temporary disability indemnity, or a percentage of one day of temporary disability indemnity representative of the percentage of the wages lost receiving treatment, as specified.
This bill would require an employee, when possible, to make a reasonable effort to schedule treatment outside of work hours. The bill would require the employee to provide notice if treatment occurs during work hours, as specified. The bill would require that the leave taken by an employee pursuant to these provisions run concurrently with leave taken pursuant to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and the California Family Rights Act if the employee would have been eligible for that leave. If an employer denies an employee’s request to attend scheduled treatment during regular work hours, the bill would make that denial a violation of the misdemeanor described above.
By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOYES

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 4600 of the Labor Code is amended to read:

4600.

(a) (1) Medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, licensed clinical social worker, and hospital treatment, including nursing, medicines, medical and surgical supplies, crutches, and apparatuses, including orthotic and prosthetic devices and services, that is reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured worker from the effects of the worker’s injury shall be provided by the employer. In the case of the employer’s neglect or refusal reasonably to do so, the employer is liable for the reasonable expense incurred by or on behalf of the employee in providing treatment.

(2) (A) When possible, an employee shall make a reasonable effort to schedule treatment outside of regular work hours. A reasonable effort shall not require a worker to consequentially delay treatment.
(B) If the treatment occurs during working hours and if the timing of the treatment is foreseeable, the employee shall provide reasonable, advance notification to the employer. If the timing of the treatment is unforeseeable, the employee shall provide notice of the treatment as soon as practicable.
(C) Leave taken by an employee pursuant to this section shall run concurrently with leave taken pursuant to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2601 et seq.), if the employee would have been eligible for that leave at the time leave was taken, and the Moore-Brown-Roberti Family Rights Act, commonly referred to as the California Family Rights Act (Sections 12945.2 and 19702.3 of the Government Code), if the employee would have been eligible for that leave at the time leave was taken.
(D) If an employer denies an employee’s request to attend scheduled treatment during regular work hours, the employer’s conduct constitutes a violation under the provisions of Section 132a.

(b) As used in this division and notwithstanding any other law, medical treatment that is reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured worker from the effects of the worker’s injury means treatment that is based upon the guidelines adopted by the administrative director pursuant to Section 5307.27.

(c) Unless the employer or the employer’s insurer has established or contracted with a medical provider network as provided for in Section 4616, after 30 days from the date the injury is reported, the employee may be treated by a physician of the employee’s own choice or at a facility of the employee’s own choice within a reasonable geographic area. A chiropractor shall not be a treating physician after the employee has received the maximum number of chiropractic visits allowed by subdivision (c) of Section 4604.5.

(d) (1) If an employee has notified the employee’s employer in writing prior to the date of injury that the employee has a personal physician, the employee shall have the right to be treated by that physician from the date of injury if the employee has health care coverage for nonoccupational injuries or illnesses on the date of injury in a plan, policy, or fund as described in subdivisions (b), (c), and (d) of Section 4616.7.

(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), a personal physician shall meet all of the following conditions:

(A) Be the employee’s regular physician and surgeon, licensed pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.

(B) Be the employee’s primary care physician and has previously directed the medical treatment of the employee, and who retains the employee’s medical records, including the employee’s medical history. “Personal physician” includes a medical group, if the medical group is a single corporation or partnership composed of licensed doctors of medicine or osteopathy, which operates an integrated multispecialty medical group providing comprehensive medical services predominantly for nonoccupational illnesses and injuries.

(3) If the employee has health care coverage for nonoccupational injuries or illnesses on the date of injury in a health care service plan licensed pursuant to Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, and the employer is notified pursuant to paragraph (1), all medical treatment, utilization review of medical treatment, access to medical treatment, and other medical treatment issues shall be governed by Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code. Disputes regarding the provision of medical treatment shall be resolved pursuant to Article 5.55 (commencing with Section 1374.30) of Chapter 2.2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code.

(4) If the employee has health care coverage for nonoccupational injuries or illnesses on the date of injury in a group health insurance policy as described in Section 4616.7, all medical treatment, utilization review of medical treatment, access to medical treatment, and other medical treatment issues shall be governed by the applicable provisions of the Insurance Code.

(5) The insurer may require prior authorization of any nonemergency treatment or diagnostic service and may conduct reasonably necessary utilization review pursuant to Section 4610.

(6) An employee is entitled to all medically appropriate referrals by the personal physician to other physicians or medical providers within the nonoccupational health care plan. An employee is entitled to treatment by physicians or other medical providers outside of the nonoccupational health care plan pursuant to standards established in Article 5 (commencing with Section 1367) of Chapter 2.2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code.

(e) (1) When at the request of the employer, the employer’s insurer, the administrative director, the appeals board, or a workers’ compensation administrative law judge, the employee submits to examination by a physician, the employee is entitled to receive, in addition to all other benefits herein provided, all reasonable expenses of transportation, meals, and lodging incident to reporting for the examination, together with one day of temporary disability indemnity for each day of wages lost in submitting to the examination.

(2) Regardless of the date of injury, “reasonable expenses of transportation” includes mileage fees from the employee’s home to the place of the examination and back at the rate of twenty-one cents ($0.21) a mile or the mileage rate adopted by the Director of Human Resources pursuant to Section 19820 of the Government Code, whichever is higher, plus any bridge tolls. The mileage and tolls shall be paid to the employee at the time the employee is given notification of the time and place of the examination.

(f) When at the request of the employer, the employer’s insurer, the administrative director, the appeals board, or a workers’ compensation administrative law judge, an employee submits to examination by a physician and the employee does not proficiently speak or understand the English language, the employee shall be entitled to the services of a qualified interpreter in accordance with conditions and a fee schedule prescribed by the administrative director. These services shall be provided by the employer. For purposes of this section, “qualified interpreter” means a language interpreter certified, or deemed certified, pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 11435.05) of Chapter 4.5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of, or Section 68566 of, the Government Code.

(g) If the injured employee cannot effectively communicate with the employee’s treating physician because the employee cannot proficiently speak or understand the English language, the injured employee is entitled to the services of a qualified interpreter during medical treatment appointments. To be a qualified interpreter for purposes of medical treatment appointments, an interpreter is not required to meet the requirements of subdivision (f), but shall meet any requirements established by rule by the administrative director that are substantially similar to the requirements set forth in Section 1367.04 of the Health and Safety Code. The administrative director shall adopt a fee schedule for qualified interpreter fees in accordance with this section. Upon request of the injured employee, the employer or insurance carrier shall pay for interpreter services. An employer shall not be required to pay for the services of an interpreter who is not certified or is provisionally certified by the person conducting the medical treatment or examination unless either the employer consents in advance to the selection of the individual who provides the interpreting service or the injured worker requires interpreting service in a language other than the languages designated pursuant to Section 11435.40 of the Government Code.

(h) Home health care services shall be provided as medical treatment only if reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured employee from the effects of the employee’s injury and prescribed by a physician and surgeon licensed pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, and subject to Section 5307.1 or 5307.8. The employer is not liable for home health care services that are provided more than 14 days prior to the date of the employer’s receipt of the physician’s prescription.

SEC. 2.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SECTION 1.Section 4600.03 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
4600.03.
(a)Notwithstanding Section 4656, when treatment is provided pursuant to this article to an employee who is working, the employee is entitled to receive, in addition to all other benefits, all reasonable expenses of transportation, meals, and lodging incident to receiving treatment, together with one day of temporary disability indemnity for each day of wages lost receiving treatment.
(b)If treatment does not require the employee to miss a full day of work, the employer may instead provide a percentage of one day of temporary disability indemnity representative of the percentage of the wages lost receiving treatment.
(c)An employer may require an employee to first exhaust leave provided under Sections 245 to 247.5, inclusive, of the Labor Code or Section 44978 or 45191 of the Education Code before the employer is required to provide temporary disability indemnity leave under this section.
~~(d)This section applies whether the injury has become permanent and stationary or not.~~
(e)Regardless of the date of injury, “reasonable expenses of transportation” includes mileage fees from the employee’s home to the place of the treatment and back at the rate adopted by the Director of Human Resources pursuant to Section 19820 of the Government Code, plus any bridge tolls.
(f)The employer may not discharge or in any way discriminate against the employee for receiving treatment during normal business hours or during the hours of the day when the employee is customarily at work.