On Friday, I covered the first five of California's top 10 workers' compensation developments of 2024. Today, I'll round out the second five.

It's a subjective list, but I think these are 2024's standout workers' comp developments.

6. California workers’ comp costs and insurance rates remained stable, but inflation continued to eat away at the value of permanent disability indemnity payments received by injured workers.

In April 2024, the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau requested a 0.9% increase in the nonbinding benchmark advisory pure premium, which proposed to increase the advisory rate from $1.41 per $100 of payroll to $1.42. Public members of the WCIRB voted to recommend a 3.3% decrease but were outvoted.

In July 2024, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara split the baby, issuing a new advisory rate of $1.38 per $100 of payroll, a 2.1% decrease from the prior $1.41.

Average workers’ comp rates charged to employers have remained stable as well. According to the Sept. 30 WCIRB Quarterly Experience Report, industry average charged rates for 2024 are $1.61 per $100 of payroll, compared to $1.60 per $100 of payroll. By comparison, in 2003, the figure was $6.40 per $100 of payroll, and in 2014, it was $3.19.

According to a 2024 WCIRB report, allocated loss expenses (ALAE) — expenses directly incurred in handling claims — have increased significantly in recent years.

7. Concern about the impact of fires and indoor and outdoor heat on workers continued to mount.

In June 2024, Calmatters.org documented the substantial hurdles and red tape that California firefighters face in getting treatment for post-traumatic stress.

The article presents very specific examples of CalFire workers in distress. Delays and the lack of psychologists and psychiatrists willing to take industrial cases due to payment issues and authorization problems render many CalFire workers unable to access treatment. The article claims that despite the 2020 enactment of a post-traumatic stress disorder presumption, the problems persist.

In June 2024, a blog post from the California Applicants' Attorneys Association, “CalFire Battles More Than Flames,” noted that mental health issues are contributing to a staffing crisis and high turnover at CalFire.

In 2024, there was great controversy about indoor heat standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted to adopt long-developed indoor heat standards, but Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration balked before they were to be approved by the Office of Administrative Law. This was detailed in an earlier blog post.

Displeased that the Standards Board voted to proceed, Newsom removed Laura Stock of UC Berkeley, one of the Standards Board's members, and demoted another. The indoor heat standards were finally approved in July 2024, with prisons excepted.

Meanwhile, a proposed federal workplace heat standard rule was unveiled at midyear by the U.S. Department of Labor, and at year’s end, it is still in the comment process.

There was also increasing concern about stone worker silicosis, and the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted to adopt regulations.

8. Severe staffing problems at Cal/OSHA and the State Labor Commissioner, and problems at EDD’s SDI and UI programs continued.

As noted in my blog entry “California Trouble,” these are collateral issues that can impact California workers’ comp.

In early 2024, the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee held a hearing on labor enforcement issues and staffing problems at the California Labor Commissioner and Cal/OSHA.

Even with money for additional positions and some relaxed hiring rules, achieving and maintaining adequate staffing is a tall order, though DIR Director Katie Hagen claimed at a December 2024 Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation meeting that the DIR is making progress on hiring.

9. User funding protected the California Division of Workers’ Comp from cuts and freezes that will affect many other state programs.

Assessments on employers largely ensured that the California system fared well in the state budget. Included were 71 new positions at the DWC, 13 over three years at the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, and money for the Electronic Adjudication Management System.

10. As always, there were plenty of studies about aspects of the California system, most funded by employer-side research groups.

The 2024 WCIRB “State of the System” report is here.

From WCIRB, a 2024 “geo report” on California regional differences is here.

A Rand report to the DIR on the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund is here.

CHSWC's annual report is here.

A CWCI report on the impact of medical inflation on California workers’ compensation fee schedules is here.

A WCIRB research study analyzed whether employee tenure (i.e., how long workers have been working at an employer) affects claim frequency. The study shows that “About 40% of workers’ compensation claims come from workers with [less than] one year of tenure. Service-providing industries have a higher share of claims from these short-tenured workers than other industries. From 2020 to 2022, all industry groups experienced a rise in the share of claims from workers with [less than] one year of tenure, largely driven by a strong labor market with increased job openings. This might have resulted in a higher number of new hires with less experience or training, who were more susceptible to work-related injuries.”

From the California Workers’ Compensation Institute, an analysis of workers’ comp inpatient hospital care showed a drop in inpatient hospitalization of more than 50% during the last 10 years.

From the DWC, a June study on the volume of IMR requests in the previous year is here.

At midyear, the WCIRB reported on how trends in the California economy in various industries (health care, hospitality, manufacturing, construction, retail, etc.) affect the frequency and severity of workers’ compensation.

From CWCI, a study of cumulative claims and litigated claims is here.

Also from CWCI, a study of medical-legal costs under the revised fee schedule that went into effect in 2021 is here.

A slide deck from National Council on Compensation Insurance chief actuary Donna Glenn compares the profitability of workers’ comp insurance with other insurance lines. 

A Workers Compensation Research Institute report on the impact of excessive heat on frequency of workers’ comp injuries is here.

A national study on workers’ comp from the National Academy of Social Sciences is here.

CWCI reported on opioids in the California workers’ comp system from 2017 to 2023.

WCIRB reported on long COVID in the California workers’ comp system.

A paywall-protected WCRI report showed that average medical payments per claim were below the median of states studied.

An in-depth WCIRB report on California workers’ compensation losses and expenses is here. Interestingly, in 2023, defense attorney costs ($938 million) continue to far outpace applicant attorney fees paid ($402 million). Defense attorney costs jumped from $850 million in 2022 to $938 million in 2023.

Julius Young is an applicants' attorney and a partner for the Boxer & Gerson law firm in Oakland. This column was reprinted with his permission from his Workers Comp Zone blog on the firm's website.