The Division of Workers’ Compensation has issued a notice of public hearing for proposed Copy Service Fee Schedule regulations. The public hearing has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 1 in Room 1 of the Elihu Harris Building, 1515 Clay Street, Oakland, CA 94612. Members of the public may also submit written comments on the regulations until 5 p.m. that day.

“This Copy Service Fee Schedule will reduce litigation and allow providers to submit fee disputes to independent bill review,” says DWC Acting Administrative Director Destie Overpeck. “It will also add clarity regarding allowable services to copy service providers and payers.”

The fee schedule was developed in consultation with the Commission on Health and Safety and Worker’s Compensation (CHSWC). Senate Bill 863 requires DWC to implement a schedule of reasonable maximum fees for copying and related services. The Copy Service Fee Schedule provides for a maximum flat fee of $180 for records up to 500 pages and includes all associated services such as pagination, witness fees, and subpoena preparation. For more than 500 pages, an additional per page fee of 20 cents per page is allowed. Certificates of no record would be payable at a maximum of $100.

Proposed changes include allowing DWC to bill $85 an hour instead of $40 an hour for electronic requests made under the Public Records Act and to charge $1 for CDs of these records. The proposed changes also include an allowance for DWC to dispose of paper adjudication documents after 20 years and replaces deposits required for DWC transcripts with an up-front $150 fee for transcripts of 50 pages and under. For transcripts over 50 pages, an extra $3 per page would be paid before the transcript is released.

The notice and text of the regulations can be found on the proposed regulations page.