Dems Nix Republican TD Bill

April 26, 2007
FLASH REPORT!
Workers' Comp Executive

In step with the party-line march, the Assembly Insurance Committee has killed AB 1341, a workers' compensation bill authored by committee vice chair John Benoit (R-Riverside) that would have increased the timeline for 104 weeks of temporary disability payouts from the current two-year window to four years.

In his second attempt to pass the bill through committee, Benoit retracted a portion of the original proposal that would have repealed the minimum temporary disability benefit of $126 per week in exchange for benefits equal to or greater than the injured employee's average weekly earning. This element of the bill stirred up labor representatives who argued that benefits are already too low for injured workers.

Benoit said it was his hope that the revised bill "would benefit workers and would have a better chance of obtaining the governor's signature than the version previously offered."

But with only two aye votes, one no vote, and four abstentions, AB1341 isn't going anywhere.

Meanwhile, committee Chair Joe Coto (D-San Jose) is continuing to campaign in favor of his own temporary disability bill, AB338. The main provision of Coto's bill, seeks to amend Labor Code Section 4656 by increasing the number of weeks that temporary disability benefits may be paid from 104 weeks to 156. The bill also would allow benefits to be paid within five years of the date of injury, rather than the current two-year window.

The two pieces of legislation were both originally heard on April 18, at which time Coto asked Benoit to table AB 1341 so that the two might "work together" to create something agreeable for both Republicans and Democrats. Moments later, Coto's bill passed.

The chairman's proposal would also provide more TD time to an injured worker's payout schedule in the event that utilization review is used, and would also extend so-called "4850" time for safety officers in some cases. Under Labor Code Section 4850, public safety personnel such as firefighters and police can take a paid leave of absence and collect full salary in lieu of TD benefits if they are injured on the job.


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