Assembly Bill 2732, signed by Governor Brown on August 19, 2014, contains several practical clean-up provisions to the workers’ compensation reforms of 2012. The amended Sections of the Labor Code are 4600, 4610.5, 4903, 4903.07, 4903.8 and 5410. In short, the bill:
- Allows IMR request to be on a form up to two pages long. (4610.5(f)) Previously an IMR request was only permitted on a one page form.
- Permits medical-legal expenses to be pursued through the WCAB lien process. (4903(b)) Medical legal expenses were previously not included in this section.
- Spells out that an employer must reimburse a lien claimant for a lien filing or lien activation fee under specified circumstances. (4903.07) Previously, the language did not specify which party would reimburse lien claimants for lien activation and filing fees.
- Clarifies that the preclusion against lien assignment only applies to liens filed before January 1, 2013. (4903.8(a)(2))
- Makes technical and non-substantive changes to existing law. (4600, 4610.5, 5410)
The bill made several non-controversial changes to the Labor Code, mainly serving to correct minor drafting defects of SB 863.