Workers’ Comp eNews

By Elizabeth Furlow, Esq. Hartsuyker, Stratman & Williams-Abrego, San Francisco; Chair, Technology, Social Media and Website Subcommittee The goal of the Technology, Social Media and Website subcommittee is to recognize changes in technology relevant to the practice of Workers' Compensation Law, provide practical resources for our members about emerging technology tips that are foundational for today's legal market, and connect and communicate with our members on multiple technology platforms. This article provides several examples of those resources and instructions on… Read more

By Randy H. Pollak, Esq[1] 15 years after implementation of SB 899 and its “new regime” of apportionment law, one of the hottest litigated issues in workers’ compensation remains the scope of valid apportionment.  Case in point, on May 27, 2020, the Sixth district Court of Appeal published a major apportionment decision in County of Santa Clara v. WCAB (Justice), 2020 Cal. App. LEXIS 461.  What is immediately important for the workers’ compensation practitioner is the Justice decision’s dramatic limitation… Read more

The Division of Workers’ Compensation and the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board have recently issued several more emergency measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  As a reference to our readers, we provide links to those directives as we did in the most recent editions of the Enews: DWC and WCAB Continue to Expand Hearing Schedule at the District Offices (May 28, 2020) DWC, WCAB Update Forms to Identify Injuries Related to COVID-19 (May 22, 2020) Read more

CalChamber Podcast on COVID-19 and Governor Newsom’s Executive Order On May 22, 2020, Tiffany Boyland, our CLA Workers’ Compensation Executive Committee Vice Chair and Community Outreach subcommittee Chair, participated in a podcast for the California Chamber of Commerce, “COVID-19 and the Workers’ Comp Order Explained.” In this episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber Executive Vice President and General Counsel Erika Frank, and Tiffany Boyland discuss Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order that created a rebuttable presumption for workers claiming to… Read more

Recognizing that many practitioners are working from home, rather than their office and not receiving their regular mail due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Workers’ Compensation Executive Committee is offering its members an electronic version of The Workers’ Compensation Quarterly. Read more

The California Young Lawyers Association has developed a series of 10-minute mentorship videos for its members. The most recent mentor video is about Hot Topic Litigation and Emerging Trends in workers’ compensation law and features Randy Pollak, editor of the Workers’ Compensation Quarterly and Co-Chair of the Publications subcommittee of the California Lawyers Association, Workers’ Compensation Executive Committee. Mr. Pollak is managing attorney of Pacific Compensation in Thousand Oaks, California. Click the link immediately below to view this informative presentation. Read more

The Division of Workers’ Compensation and the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board have recently issued several more emergency measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more

As of May 9, 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic resulted in the infection of 64,561 Californians, claiming the lives of 2,678. In conjunction with the initial phases of lifting restrictions meant to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 disease brought on by the Coronavirus and the gradual reopening of California’s economy, on May 6, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order EXECUTIVE ORDER N-62-20. Read more

As the name states, the Practice and Procedure/Ethics Subcommittee looks at pretty much anything that affects Practice and Ethics in the field of the California Workers’ Compensation system. We are keenly aware of any proposed rule changes by either the DWC or the WCAB. Read more

Greetings to my fellow stay at home and virus survivor community. It is hard to believe that so little has changed since I sat down to write last month’s article. Many of us are still sheltering at home and others are working in half empty offices, keeping our distance and wearing face coverings hoping that the measures we take will protect us. We watch the news obsessively and look for something to give us hope. Read more