EMPLOYMENT LAW: State Assembly Prohibits Workers’ Comp Cuts Based on Race, Sex or Age

May 13 , 2011

Sacramento – The California State Assembly has introduced changes to California workers’ compensation law which would prevent cuts to the workers’ benefits based on discriminatory issues such as race, age or gender.

Reports said Democratic Assemblyman Luis Alejo (Watsonville) proposed the bill, citing an instance where a worker’s benefit was reduced in half because he is black but a review of the case later revealed that blacks were more susceptible to hypertension.

Alejo also noted that the bill would ensure that any cut to disability awards would have to be done based on pre-existing medical conditions and not just to risk factors.

However, opponents of the bill said the changes would drive up costs for businesses. But proponents said safeguards against abuses were already built into the system, to monitor discriminatory decisions.