The California Assembly Appropriations Committee placed a hold on bills proposing to overhaul the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund and to allow injured workers to receive medical treatment during the workday.

The committee on Wednesday sent AB 1576 and AB 2098 to its suspense file, which serves as a sort of holding place for bills with projected costs of $50,000 to the general fund or at least $150,000 to other funds, such as the Workers' Compensation Administration Revolving Fund.

The proposed SIBTF reforms in AB 1576, by Assemblymember Liz Ortega, D-San Leandro, would require:

• Substantial evidence of a preexisting disability that predates a second injury and caused a loss of earnings or interfered with work activities or activities of daily life to qualify for SIBTF benefits.
• Use of the same medical-legal process for SIBTF claims that is used for traditional claims. 
• The Division of Workers' Compensation to create a database of qualified medical evaluators who have expertise in assessing second injury claims.
• Permanent disability caused by the subsequent industrial injury to be based on the whole-person impairment rating, with the 1.4 multiplier for diminished future earning capacity being applied to claims with a date of injury on or after Jan. 1, 2013.

An Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis projects costs of an "unknown, but potentially significant amount, in excess of $150,000 to revolving fund for the DWC to create and maintain a QME database and revise the criteria and procedures for administering a SIBTF claim and benefit payment."

AB 2098, by Assemblymember Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, would require employers to provide time off when an injured worker is not able to schedule treatment outside of working hours. 

The bill would allow employers to deny a request for time off for a business necessity, and it would declare that firing or threatening to fire someone who took leave to get treatment would violate Labor Code Section 132a.

The Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis projects ongoing revolving fund expenditures "in the low millions of dollars" for the DWC to manage an increase in inquiries regarding the new requirements and for the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board to process and hear petitions for penalties.

The Assembly Appropriations Committee is slated to consider the bills during a hearing on Thursday. Committee members don't debate suspense file bills, and there is no testimony on the measures.

Friday is the legislative deadline for the committees to pass the bills to the floor.