Regulation & Public Policy

The overwhelming passage of Senate Bill 863 (De La Torre) in the waning moments of the end of the California legislative session set the workers' compensation community abuzz.

One vehicle to objectively identify work-related injuries is the Electrodiagnostic Functional Assessment Soft Tissue Management baseline program.

The Second District Court of Appeal recently issued their decision on Valdez v. Zurich North America which involves in part, the admissibility of non-Medical Provider Network doctor's reports. It says in part that non-Medical Provider Network diagnosis, treatment and attendant reports which are paid for by the employee are admissible. This article offers one strategy to retain medical control under the Medical Provider Network while at the same time avoiding lengthy litigation over the admissibility of the employee's non-Medical Provider Network doctor's report.

Just when you thought the claim by your injured employee was finally over and closed with a voluntary resignation, you still might have to meet with him/her to discuss possible return to work.

In a recent release, the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced its new enforcement approach to get more efficient usage of its resources and to build on its present system to remedy discrimination.

Although we think that the first important legal battle for captive insurance occurred during the economic substance cases that started in the 1970s, the reality is two cases from the 1950s (US. v. Weber and Consumers Oil Corp v. US) have all the hallmarks of modern-day captive insurance programs.

The story goes like this ... You're sitting at your desk when you're informed that someone from Cal/OSHA has just arrived for an unannounced drop-in inspection. You ask yourself, what could they possibly want? Well hang on to your hats because the inspector wants to see everything.

The Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act, passed with bipartisan support and signed by President Obama, allows military veterans to sue their employers for workplace harassment. The key provisions of the Act seek to reduce unemployment rates for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, but the legislation also amends the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) to recognize claims of hostile work environment harassment because of the individual’s military status.