Worker's Comp Tops Talks at GCA Meeting
Legislation that could offset a hike in workers’ compensation was the topic of discussion at a meeting hosted by the Garment Contractors Association of Southern California Inc. on May 21 at Taix Restaurant in Los Angeles.
Last year, Gov. Gray Davis signed a workers’ comp law that increased the maximum weekly benefits for workers injured on the job from $490 this year to $840 by 2005. According to the California Chamber of Commerce, the new law increases overall costs for business owners by $3.5 billion. Recently, Davis proposed a new law to lower workers’ compensation costs by at least $1.5 million.
At the meeting, about 20 members listened closely as Independent Business Coalition Inc.’s President Tomas Hagerman and attorney Irwin Trester discussed how the state’s insurance fund is being put at risk as more and more private carriers refuse to write new policies, forcing businesses to turn to State Fund for the mandatory insurance. Hagerman and Trester told the audience about their ongoing efforts to get lawmakers and politicians to listen to their concerns over several newly proposed bills, such as Senate Bill 2, which establishes a single-payer, government-run universal health care system, and Assembly Bill 76, a bill that holds employers liable for harassment in the work place. —Claudia Figueroa
