California Worker's Compensation : Injured Workers' advocates want insurance regulation, call Garamendi plan "incomplete" and "flawed" — 2005-05-14

	News from around the internet (archived)   10:14AM California Division of Workers' Compensation Announces Appointment of Court Administrator (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) (link unavailable). The California Division of Workers' Compensation announced the appointment of an administrator to oversee the workers' compensation court system. Gov. Schwarzenegger appointed Keven Star of Elk Grove to the position of DWC court administrator May 12. Labor Commissioner Busts Auto Body Shops: No Workers' Compensation Insurance (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) (archived). The California Department of Industrial Relations' Divisions of Labor Standards Enforcement and Occupational Safety and Health , in cooperation with the Department of Insurance , and the Sacramento and Yolo County District Attorney's Offices today released information on violations found in a two day enforcement sweep of auto body shops in Sacramento and Yolo Counties. Elk Grove man to oversee workers' comp court (BizJournals) (link unavailable). Kevin Star, an Elk Grove attorney who has worked on workers' compensation cases and insurance fraud with the Sacramento district attorney's office, has been appointed as the first administrator of the workers' compensation court system, the state announced Friday.

From a February 11 News Release: (archived) "SACRAMENTO, CA – Injured workers’ advocates today renewed their call for workers’ compensation insurance rate regulation, and called Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi’s proposed changes “incomplete” for failing to include caps on rates, and “flawed” for sentencing injured workers to live in pain, without adequate treatment. “After injured workers’ benefits were cut by more than $5 billion last year, most insurers did nothing but pocket record profits. The Commissioner would reduce benefits to injured workers but allow unlimited profits for insurance companies. Garamendi’s plan includes a floor on rates, but no ceiling, so insurance companies can continue to gouge California employers. That’s not right,” said David Schwartz, President-Elect of the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association (CAAA). “Garamendi’s plan takes away benefits from injured workers, benefits that are already too low. You can cut injured workers’ benefits down to zero, and without regulation insurance companies may not reduce premiums by a single dollar.” "