Commentary: Action needed to push workers' compensation reform

By Roy Gabriel
Director of Labor Affairs, California Farm Bureau

Farm employers know that workers' compensation insurance costs have gone through the roof in the past few years. In fact, on average, workers' comp premiums have risen 136 percent in the last four years alone.

Gov. Schwarzenegger, on Nov. 17, called an extraordinary session of the Legislature to deal with the workers' comp crisis facing the state. Thus far, the Legislature has failed to act on his call for reform. Some hearings are scheduled starting this week, but it remains to be seen if there is a will at the state Capitol to achieve meaningful change.

The California Farm Bureau, along with dozens of other organizations and employer groups, is pursuing reform as the Workers' Compensation Action Network. This coalition urges members of the Legislature to act quickly to address the significant hardship that skyrocketing costs are imposing on businesses and the California economy.

The network urges swift passage of comprehensive workers' comp reform legislation in the form of SBX4 3 and ABX4 1. SBX4 3, authored by Sen. Chuck Poochigian, R-Fresno, and ABX4 1, by state Assemblyman Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, will help get workers' comp costs under control and our state's economy back on track.

These reform bills are intended to provide employers with necessary relief from skyrocketing workers' compensation insurance premiums. They are intended to solve the systemic cost drivers of the disability system and to streamline the workers' compensation insurance system to bring California's costs in line with the rest of the nation.

The legislation would establish a fair and predictable system for compensating permanent disability. The bills would increase standards to ensure injuries are job-related and correctly covered by the workers' comp system. The legislation ensures that workers receive medical care consistent with nationally recognized, evidence-based standards. Importantly, the bills require medical treatment disputes be resolved by medical professionals, not by lawyers and judges.

Support is needed for SBX4 3 and ABX4 1. These two bills must be passed by March to ensure that they take effect this year, so that employers can experience meaningful cost savings.

That's where you come in. Your help is needed to make sure that lawmakers heed the call for action. Your letters are crucial to move workers' comp reform forward in Sacramento. They need to hear how soaring costs are affecting your operation.

Fax or mail a letter today to your legislators in Sacramento. Urge passage of these important bills. You can find the contact information and names of legislators by going to www.fixworkerscompnow.org

It is high time to move workers' comp reform forward. With your help and support, we can help build a stronger California agriculture and a stronger California economy.