The Division of Workers’ Compensation has issued a notice of public comment period beginning on May 12, 2023, for modifying the text of proposed amendments to the Qualified Medical Evaluator (QME) Regulations. The affected regulations are Title 8, California Code of Regulations Sections 1, 11, 11.5, 14, 33, 35, 35.5, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 63, 10133.54 & 10133.55. (QME Process Regulations).

The proposed changes are necessary to bring existing regulations into compliance with amendments to the Labor Code and to clarify the Administrative Director’s authority with respect to the process related to appointment and reappointment of QMEs, which is granted by relevant statutory authority.

On March 13, 2023, DWC held a public hearing and received public comments on the amendments to the QME Process Regulations.Based on the comments received, DWC proposes to update the text of the proposed amendments of the regulation to:

– – ;Provide a definition of “current” for California Workers Compensation Evaluation certificates.
– – Change the position of certain subdivisions within proposed regulation section 11.5 and make clear that virtual learning environments can be used for in-person instruction.
– – Clarify the number of hours required as in-person or on-site learning for chiropractic certification.
– – Conform days for scheduling initial QME appointments cited in regulation section 33 to amendments in regulation section 31.3(e).
– – Delete all references to the defunct designation of “Agreed Panel QME”.
– – Establish additional grounds for discipline pursuant to Labor Code section 139.21.
– – Correct typographical errors.

§ 51. Reappointment and Denial of Reappointment which appears on page 27 of the Proposed Regulations contain significant provisions for the denial of reappointment. One example is “(2) Failure to comply with the evaluation time frames in sections 34 or 38 on at least three occasions during the calendar year.”

Or “(6) Three or more instances during the most recent period of appointment of billing or charging for medical-legal evaluations, reports or testimony in violation of the Medical-Legal Fee Schedule as set forth in sections 9793-9795 of Article 5.6 in this title.”

Or “(12) Participating in three or more instances of activity during the most recent period of appointment that constitute a failure to communicate with the injured worker in a respectful, courteous and professional manner,” to cite a few interesting examples that litigants and parties might be interested in using.

DWC will consider all public comments. The 15-day notice of modification to the text of the proposed regulations and the text of the regulations can be found on DWC’s rulemaking page.

  Written comments should be addressed to:
  Maureen Gray, regulations coordinator
  Department of Industrial Relations
  Division of Workers’ Compensation
  1515 Clay Street, 18th floor
  Oakland, CA 94612

The Division’s contact person must receive all written comments concerning the proposed modification to the regulations no later than May 30, 2023. Written comments may be submitted by facsimile transmission (FAX), addressed to the contact person at (510) 286-0687. Written comments may also be sent electronically (via e-mail), using the following e-mail address: dwcrules@dir.ca.gov.