The Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has approved the Division of Workers’ Compensation’s (DWC) final version of the Copy Service Fee Schedule. The effective date of the regulations is July 1, 2015.

“The new copy service fee schedule, which was mandated by SB 863, is a flat $180 fee for a set of records from a single custodian. By reducing the items and services that can be separately billed, we expect fewer disputes and prompter payments. If there are disagreements about a copy service bill, the disputes can now be handled through Independent Bill Review instead of the more time consuming and costly lien process,” said DWC Administrative Director Destie Overpeck.

The Copy Service Fee Schedule regulations include the following:

1) Instead of a per-page fee and itemized fees for subpoena preparation, mileage, and other related fees, a flat fee of $180 covers records of 500 pages and under and includes mileage, postage, delivery, phone calls, page numbering, witness fees, release of information fees, and subpoena preparation.
2) Separate charges are allocated for cancellations, certificates of no record, for records obtained from EDD and WCIRB, and for additional sets for records.
3) For copies above 500 pages, an additional 10 cents a page is allowed.
4) Bills for copy services must include provider tax ID numbers, professional photocopier numbers, and claim numbers and may include newly-created billing codes.
5) DWC fees for transcripts will no longer be estimated. It will cost $100 to order a transcript of 33 pages and under; transcripts over 33 pages will cost an additional $3 a page. DWC fees for Public Records Act requests requiring staff research will be charged at $85 an hour instead of $40.
6) DWC can dispose of paper adjudication documents after 20 years.

Although the Fee Regulations become effective on July 1, claim administrators should be aware that photocopiers are already regulated by statute in California. A “professional photocopier” is defined by section 22450 of the Business and Professions Code. This code requires that a professional photocopier shall be registered by the county clerk of the county in which he or she resides or has his or her principal place of business, and in which he or she maintains a branch office. A certificate of registration shall be accompanied by a bond of five thousand dollars ($5,000) which is executed by a corporate surety qualified to do business in this state and conditioned upon compliance with the provisions of this chapter and all laws governing the transmittal of confidential documentary information. The county clerk shall maintain a register of professional photocopiers, assign a number to each professional photocopier, and issue an identification card to each one. Additional cards for employees of professional photocopiers shall be issued. A professional photocopier shall be responsible at all times for maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of information obtained under the applicable codes in the transmittal or distribution of records to the authorized persons or entities. At least one person involved in the management of a professional photocopier shall be required to hold a current commission from the Secretary of State as a notary public in California.

All records transmitted or distributed by a professional photocopier shall be accompanied by a certificate containing the name, address, and registration number and county of registration of the professional photocopier as well as other mandated information specified in Business and Professions code 22462. A failure to comply with the professional photocopier requirements shall be punishable as a misdemeanor. It would be advisable for claim administrators to verify that all photocopied records comply with these provisions.

The text of the copy service fee regulations can be found on the DWC website..