Via WorkCompCentral.Com:
"Is California reform going too far? Though barely mentioned in his State of the State speech Wednesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to wrap the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board into one, nine-member commission has many in the industry alarmed and concerned that the technical specialty needed to resolve policy rendering decisions will be lost."

With 15 years of experience in practicing worker's compensation law, and constant continuing education, I am able to somewhat competently handle a system that with the SB899 reform has been made more complex.

Now, in the name of savings, the Governor proposes that, for the sake of streamlining government, three areas of the law should be overseen by one board. It is highly unlikely that persons experienced in other areas of Labor Law will be able to navigate the workers' compensation system.