The Return-to-Work Supplement Program is one of the components of Senate Bill 863. Labor Code section 139.48 requires the Director to administer a $120 million fund for the purpose of making supplemental payments to workers whose permanent disability benefits are disproportionately low in comparison to their earnings losses. The program is based on studies conducted by RAND regarding permanent disability; specifically “Identifying Permanently Disabled Workers with Disproportionate Earnings Losses for Supplemental Payments.” (February 2014)

Section 17304 of the regulations provides that an application for the Return-to-Work Supplement must be received by the Return-to-Work Supplement Program within one year from the date the Voucher was served on the individual or within one year from the effective date of the regulations, whichever is later.

The Department of Industrial Relations has received and posted a petition from the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association (CAAA) proposing modifications to the California Code of Regulations for the Return-to-Work Supplement Program. This petition is made by CAAA pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act sections 11340.6 and 11340.7.

In the Petition CAAA voices concern that the “regulations implemented for the Return-to-Work Supplement Program became effective April 13, 2015. Therefore, injured workers who received a voucher on or before April 13, 2015, will no longer be able to apply after April 13, 2016. This is although these individuals did not receive notice of their eligibility to apply for the program when they received their voucher. In fact, the Supplemental Job Displacement Voucher form was not updated with a notice of eligibility for the Return-to-Work Supplement Program until December 1, 2015.”

CAAA believes that the low number of applicants to the Return-to-Work Supplement program in 2015 (less than 12,000 when at least 24,000 were projected by the Rand study commissioned by CHSWC) is most likely due to this lack of notice of eligibility, as well as some difficulties in using the online application process.

The proposed changes to 8 CCR section 17304 will correct it to read “An application for the Return-to-Work Supplement must be received by the Return-to-Work Supplement Program within one year from the date the updated Voucher form containing notice was served on the individual, or one year from the effective date of this amendment to the regulations for those individuals who received vouchers before December 1, 2015.”.

CAAA proposed and supports this amendment to section 17304 as a fair remedy to allow all eligible injured workers the opportunity to apply for the Return-to-Work Supplement payment.

A public hearing on the modifications proposed by CAAA’s petition has been scheduled at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 15, 2016, in Room 7, second floor, 1515 Clay Street in Oakland. Members of the public may also submit written comments on the regulations to Nathan Schmidt, Counsel, Office of the Director, Legal Unit, P.O. Box 420603, San Francisco, CA 94142-0603 until 5 p.m. on April 15, 2016.

The CAAA RTW Petition and Notice of Public Hearing on Petition to Amend Regulations can be found on the DIR website.