Groups Release Surveys on Workers’ Compensation Reform

A coalition of industry groups and a group for lawyers who represent injured workers each released a survey on Wednesday about public support for workers' compensation reform, the Los Angeles Times reports. The industry group poll found that 74% of Californians said they support Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) proposed workers' compensation ballot initiative (Lifsher, Los Angeles Times, 2/26). As part of his "California Recovery Plan," Schwarzenegger in November proposed reducing by $11.3 billion the cost of the state's $29 billion workers' compensation program, under which employers pay $5.85 per $100 of payroll -- the highest rate in the nation -- for coverage. Schwarzenegger's plan includes measures that would prohibit workers from receiving multiple disability payments for the same injury; require dispute resolution more frequently to reduce litigation costs; limit penalties paid by insurers and employers in medical bill disputes; and establish uniform standards for permanent disability. During his State of the State address last month, Schwarzenegger said he would seek to place a measure on the November statewide ballot if legislators do not pass reform legislation by March 1 (California Healthline, 2/12).

The survey found "a slight erosion in support" for the reform initiative after poll respondents were told of arguments against the plan, the Orange County Register reports (Gittelsohn, Orange County Register, 2/26). Many respondents said that they oppose requiring injured workers to pick a different doctor if their employer does not agree with their current choice -- a stipulation in Schwarzenegger's reform proposal, the Times reports (Los Angeles Times, 2/26). "Even when we make the case for the other side -- I think pretty effectively -- we still get the vast majority of the public to say we'd vote for it," Jan van Lohuizen of Voter/Consumer Research, the firm that conducted the survey, said (Orange County Register, 2/26). The survey -- which was sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Manufacturers & Technology Association and the Workers' Compensation Action Network -- polled 800 California voters Feb. 10 to 15 and has a 3.5% margin of error. The poll conducted by the California Applicants' Attorneys Association found that 55% of respondents said they would not vote for Schwarzenegger's reform initiative after being told it would not allow injured workers to choose their doctors. The poll found that 36% of respondents supported such a measure. David Binder, the pollster for CAAA, said that the stipulation that workers cannot choose their doctors is "clearly an issue that could break the initiative." The CAAA poll surveyed 700 likely California voters Jan. 14 to 18 and has a 3.7% margin of error (Los Angeles Times, 2/26).

Christopher George, chair of the Small Business Action Committee, said Wednesday that his group will begin collecting signatures to place a measure to reduce employers' workers' compensation insurance costs on the November statewide ballot if the Legislature does not pass a workers' compensation reform bill by March 3, the Register reports (Orange County Register, 2/26). "A wait-and-see position is not an option," George said, adding, "We will hit the streets as soon as March 3 to gather signatures" (Avalos, Contra Costa Times, 2/26). The campaign to get the initiative on the November ballot could cost up to $20 million, including $3 million to $4 million to gather the necessary 373,000 signatures, George said (Orange County Register, 2/26).

In related news, the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee on Wednesday passed a bill to "fine-tune" last year's workers' compensation law and restore funding to the Division of Workers' Compensation, which oversees workers compensation, the Times reports. The funding was accidentally stripped from the state budget (Los Angeles Times, 2/26). The Register reports that Tom Rankin, president of the California Labor Federation, has met twice with California Chamber of Commerce officials to search for "common ground" on workers' compensation reform. Rankin said, "I'm optimistic because a number of folks in the employer community would rather get something done that will get savings this year, and they don't want to gamble on the long shot of the initiative." In addition, Vince Sollitto, a spokesperson for Schwarzenegger, said that representatives from the state's top four lawmakers continue to meet regularly with the governor's staff to work on a reform plan. "They're meeting, moving forward and working toward a deadline. We'll talk about what to do after March 1 if necessary," Sollitto said (Orange County Register, 2/26).

"It would be better for the Legislature to do the job" of passing measures to reduce employers' workers' compensation insurance costs "than to submit the matter to voters in an initiative form," a Bakersfield Californian editorial states, adding that "[t]ime is running out for the Legislature to complete the vital but mammoth task" before Schwarzenegger's March 1 deadline. "The risk of putting such a complex issue on the ballot is that the debate will degenerate into grossly distorted sound bites and bumper sticker sloganeering by all the special interests involved that end up ignoring the harm to both employers and employees," the editorial concludes (Bakersfield Californian, 2/23).