Each Los Angeles accident lawyer at our firm recognizes the importance of workers’ compensation in helping ensure that injured workers receive the medical care they need without concern about who may be at fault for an on-the-job accident. Still, no legislation is perfect and it is helpful for California workers to see how our state legislators identify weaknesses in the law and take action to strengthen it.

Workers Saw Three Important Workers' Compensation Changes in 2015

Worker-related laws underwent many changes, including paid sick days and compensation for state-required rest and recovery periods. Three changes are designed to increase employees' ability to receive fairer treatment under the system, as follows:

• Expedited hearings for cases in dispute: There are many reasons why workers’ compensation claims may be in dispute, such as when workers' employers deny claims or when workers discover too late that that their employers do not carry the insurance coverage required by law. To help ensure that workers have the best chance to receive the benefits they need and deserve, the new law sets specific standards to get disputed cases to trial in a timely manner.
• Labor contracting — client liability: As a general rule, companies that contract labor through an outside company are expected to make sure that the contract company meets all employment-related regulations, including providing workers’ compensation for their workers. With certain exceptions, this law would assign some liability to the hiring companies when the contract companies violate the law.
• Allowances for undocumented workers: As long as undocumented workers update or attempt to update personal information (such as name, Social Security number or federal employment authorization document) in a lawful manner, this law prevents employers from retaliating against workers. This means they cannot use immigration status as a reason for terminating employment, denying workers’ compensation claims or taking any other discriminatory action.

Knowing About Laws is Not Paramount to Understanding Them

Knowing that a law exists is an important first step for employees who want to protect their rights. However, these and other California laws use very precise language. Any statement within a law can prevent certain employers and other parties from carrying out specific actions, while including exceptions that permit other parties from doing the very same things.

That said, any workers who know the law well enough to suspect that an employer is denying their rights needs to seek legal guidance. It costs nothing to schedule a free initial consultation with a law firm that can help clarify worker rights and discuss possible legal actions that can help protect them. To learn how we can help, call The Rudman Law Firm APC at 844-478-3626 / (844) 4RUDMAN, at our Los Angeles office at 213-375-3777 or at our Studio City office 818-769-6969.