BILL NUMBER: S2234
SPONSOR: RAMOS
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the
parties' rights to a hearing upon application to the workers' compen-
sation board and requiring a record of all hearings held
 
PURPOSE:
To provide injured workers with an initial hearing in every case, so
that they may appear before a referee in order to understand their
rights and obligations under the Worker's Compensation Law, and to
provide all parties with a hearing within a 45 days of the filing of
their request, so that issues may be resolved quickly
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
§ 1 - The Board shall index a claim for workers' compensation immediate-
ly upon receipt of a medical report in addition to either a claim filed
by the inured worker or an employer's report of injury of illness.
§ 2 - Provides each injured worker with a fair hearing in their case
within 60 days after the claim is indexed by the Board; and directs the
Board to schedule a hearing within 45 days after the application of a
party in cases of lost wages or lost time due to injury.
§ 3 - Requires the board to keep accurate records of all hearings and
such hearings shall be issued in the injured workers' native language.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In practice, however, the Board neither schedules conciliation meetings
and rarely honors the parties' applications for hearings. Instead, the
Board routinely makes findings of fact and law by the unilateral issu-
ance of "proposed conciliation decisions." Such decisions are often
issued absent the request of any party, are not the result of a meeting
or hearing, and are issued in English only, using language that requires
a high degree of both literacy and familiarity with the workers' compen-
sation system. Moreover, the Board routinely delays or denies the appli-
cations of parties for hearings, frequently responding with administra-
tive correspondence or proposed decisions that are an inadequate
substitute for a fair hearing on the issues.
These administrative processes do not provide meaningful information to
injured workers about their rights and benefits under the Workers
Compensation Law. This is especially true for workers with language or
literacy barriers. When workers are unable to access workers' compen-
sation benefits for workplace injuries, those costs are often shifted to
private insurers, union health care funds, taxpayers, and the injured
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S8445A - Reported and Committed to Finance
2023: S5867 - Vetoed
 
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.