New Disability, Workers’ Comp Rules, Changes to Fair Employment/Housing Disability Regulation Take Effect

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The California Chamber of Commerce Alert Newsletter recently reported that several changes to the disability regulations under the Fair Employment and Housing Commission (FEHC) went into effect on December 30, 2012 and that emergency regulations to implement cost-saving elements in the workers’ compensation reform bill enacted last year went into effect on January 1.

The changes to the disability regulations include:

•An expansion of the definitions of "mental" and "physical" disability; 

• Clarification of what evidence might be used to show that a particular function is "essential" to a job; 

• A description of the interactive process and obligations of both the employer and the employee or job applicant; and 

• A description of what constitutes a reasonable accommodation and specific examples, including a discussion of when a leave of absence might be an appropriate accommodation.

The text of the regulations is identical to the version adopted by the FEHC on December 18, 2012. A copy of the approved disability regulations is available at www.dfeh.ca.gov/FairEmploymentAndHousingCouncil.htm

These amendments to the disability regulations are separate from the recently approved amended pregnancy disability leave regulations, which also took effect on December 30, 2012. 

HRCalifornia Updates

HRCalifornia has been updated with an expanded discussion of these regulations. 

California Chamber of Commerce customers also can get an expanded discussion of the disability regulations and the pregnancy disability leave regulations and their impact on state law in the 2013 California Labor Law Digest. 

February Seminar

CalChamber employment law experts will hold a live half-day seminar in Sacramento on February 15 that will cover the amended regulations in detail, and their impact on employers and employees.

An on-demand webinar that discusses the amended regulations and their impact on employers also is available at www.calchamberstore.com.

Emergency Workers’ Comp Rules Implement Reform Legislation

Emergency regulations to implement cost-saving elements in the workers’ compensation reform bill enacted last year went into effect on January 1.

The California Chamber of Commerce supported the reform bill, SB 863 (De León; D-Los Angeles; Chapter 363, Statutes of 2012), which contained critical reforms for improving efficiency and reducing unnecessary costs in the California workers’ compensation system, which are necessary to offset the $1 billion benefit increase provided under the bill and dampen the trend of increasing costs to employers.

The reforms potentially lower system costs for employers by reducing delays and litigation in the system, addressing the lien epidemic, shortening the medical-legal process, implementing an independent medical review system and streamlining the permanent disability schedule.

Regulation Changes

Although the benefit increases kick in automatically, most of the cost-saving reforms require regulatory implementation. The Brown administration made notable progress against an extremely tight deadline in December. Regulatory changes now in effect include:

•changes to the Supplemental Job Displacement Voucher;

• new systems for resolving medical treatment and billing disputes;

• filing fees from service providers who file liens;

• new requirements for medical examiners;

• payment changes to surgery centers and hospitals that perform spinal implant procedures; and

• new requirements for interpreters and chiropractors.

Some of these changes will be followed by formal rulemaking in 2013. 

More Information 

More information on the new regulations is available at the website of the Division of Workers’ Compensation within the state Department of Industrial Relations at www.dir.ca.gov/dwc.