By Ronald J. Becht, Executive Director
Northern California Drywall Contractors Association

Maximum workers' compensation benefits for temporarily and permanently disabled 
workers will go up 20 percent - from $490 to $602 per week beginning January 1, 2003. 
The benefit increase is included in a package of workers' comp benefit increases (AB 
749) signed by Governor Gray Davis in February, 2002. Disabled benefits will increase 
to $728 per week in 2004 and $840 per week in 2005, and annually thereafter based on 
cost-of-living adjustments in the state's average weekly wage. AB 749 also increases 
benefits for workers who are permanently partially disabled from the current rate of $170 
per week to $230 by 2006 (the rate increases gradually each year in the interim).

The legislation allows disabled employees to choose a one-time payment of $10,000 
instead of vocational rehabilitation; increases funding to investigate and prosecute 
employers who don't pay for workers' comp; and raises other penalties for workers' 
comp violations by employers.

The bill also:

	Expands the definition of first aid to allow employers to pay directly for a wider  range of medical costs outside the workers' comp system.
	Allows employers to require that injured employees be treated for 180 days  (instead of 90 days) by the company's physician or designated HMO.
	Offers grants for employers of up to $2,500 to help sustain modified duty  programs for injured employees who return to work. However, funds for the  grants will not be appropriated until 2004.

What should you do?

Because of the impending benefit increases, it's more important than ever for employers 
to:

	Shop for the best policy. Review your current policy when it expires to compare  the coverage offered by several different companies. This year's best insurance  carrier may not be the one with the best rates for next year.
	Identify a company doctor or facility for injured workers. Designating a company  doctor helps control who treats your employees and how much they are paid.
	Make sure you have a first aid program. This allows you to pay directly for first  aid care, which keeps these costs from affecting workers' comp.
	Maintain an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP), required by  California law, to reduce employee injuries.
	Require employees to report all injuries and illnesses immediately. Promptly  investigate any accidents and correct any workplace hazards.
	Make sure supervisors understand the importance of controlling worker's comp  costs. Direct supervisors to tell you about injuries immediately, send injured  workers to the company doctor, and encourage injured employees to get well and  return to work as soon as possible, even with modified duty.
	Display the mandatory worker's compensation poster (Injuries on the Job). Be  sure to write in the name of the company person to whom injuries should be  reported as well as the name, address, and phone number of the company doctor.

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