The legislature returned to Sacramento to kick off the second half of their 2023-2024 legislative session. Bills that were introduced in 2023 must be passed out of their house of origin (the house in which the bill was introduced) by the end of January if they are to remain eligible in 2024. Many of the bills introduced last year failed to pass out of their house of origin, and the legislature will be focused on moving these bills in January. CCWC has already worked in 2024 to defeat two such measures that stalled out early in the process last year, both of which expand presumptions in the workers’ compensation system.
AB 597 by Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez (D – Pomona) would expand the existing PTSD presumption to include paramedics and emergency medical technicians. CCWC opposed this measure in 2023 along with a coalition of public sector employer organizations, and the bill stalled so early in 2023 that it never had a hearing in the Assembly Insurance Committee. There was word that this bill would move this January, even though a related measure, SB 623 (Laird), was amended into a study bill in 2023.
SB 623 would have similarly expanded the existing PTSD presumption to include dispatchers and similar emergency communicators, but it was amended late in the session to require the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation (CHSWC) to conduct a thorough study on both the existing presumption and the proposed expansion. Governor Newsom signed SB 623, which would seem to preclude further expansion until that study is completed.
CCWC worked with coalition partners to mobilize renewed opposition to AB 597 as the legislature returned to Sacramento last week. Fortunately, the author decided against pursuing the bill.
AB 1156 (Bonta) was yet another attempt to establish an expansive presumption for nurses and other hospital worker. The presumption would include blood borne pathogens, infectious diseases, COVID-19, and all musculoskeletal injuries. CCWC worked with a coalition to aggressively oppose AB 1156, and the once again made the CalChamber’s notorious “Job Killer List.” The bill failed early in 2023 and the author signaled interest in attempting passage again in 2024 but decided not to proceed.
Presumptions are not necessary to access benefits in California workers’ compensation, which is a no-fault system that requires judges to liberally construe the law in the direction of providing benefits to injured workers. Unfortunately, presumption bills have become common for union leadership who want to show value to their members. Employers oppose these measures because they create an impossible burden of proof for employers and make it impossible to refute clearly non-industrial claims.
Legislators began introducing new legislation last week when they returned to Sacramento, and we expect to see roughly 3,500 individual pieces of legislation introduced by the February 16 deadline.