California accepted the nation’s oldest community indemnity program in the second decade of the 20th century, which is known as Workers’ Compensation.
According to Workers’ Compensation, employees are permitted to get immediate and effective medical treatment if they fall ill or get injured while working at their workplace. The average weekly salary of an employee derives from the compensation benefit he will be eligible for.
It is a mandate that all businesses in California, big or small, must have a workers’ compensation insurance policy. The insurance policy can be bought from a private insurance company or from a state-run insurance fund. If the businesses do not have insurance coverage, they are violating California Labor Law. They may face – a $10,000 fine, or one-year prison sentence, or even a state penalty of up to $100,000. A lot of large businesses do not buy an insurance policy from any of the insurance companies, instead, they are self-insured.
You can contact our experienced employment attorney if you need help with a workers’ compensation claim on your behalf or if you wish to discuss your deceased family member’s case.
Workers’ Compensation in California covers the following:
· Medical Care – The workers are entitled to get medical treatment in case they get injured while working. For example – the employee gets burned by a chemical splash or meets with an accident while making deliveries, or loses hearing power because of the constant loud noise of the machinery, etc. Medical bills get reimbursed, including the costs of medical assessment and surgery. Transportation costs get covered when you travel to seek treatment. However, the choice of doctors is limited and you may have to see the insurance company’s doctor.
· Temporary Disability Benefits – The employees may receive temporary disability benefits if they have an injury due to which they are unable to perform their duty normally and they lose wages because of that. These payments get paid based on two-thirds of their normal wages or their average weekly wage.
· Permanent Disability Benefits – Permanent Disability Benefits are entitled to those employees who are unable to work permanently. Thus, the payments get paid to workers who don’t completely recover from injury or whose injury affects their ability to return to their job or even contribute to any other job. The amount paid under this disability is disbursed on a weekly basis for a specific period of time. The level of disability decides how much you are entitled to receive the benefit. In a week, the maximum amount one can get is $290.
· Death Benefits – The spouse, children, or dependents may receive the payments under this benefit if the worker dies while engaging in work-related activity or injury, or illness. Burial expenses get included in this benefit.
· Job displacement benefit – Vouchers are given to the employees for retraining or enhancing their skills and knowledge, for example, education-related retraining at state-approved schools. These vouchers get available to those who don’t recover completely and can no longer go back to their previous job or employer.
In a situation where an injured employee feels that he cannot work as he is still unfit or believes that the restrictions laid by the doctor are incorrect, the employee has the right to request for another doctor to evaluate and decide upon the disability status. If an injured employee is 100% disabled, he or she is looked upon as permanently totally disabled. In another situation, if the injured employee’s disability rating is identified to be 70% to 99%, he or she will be entitled to receive a life pension.
Conclusion
If an injured worker does not receive benefits, this may not be because he/she does not have a legitimate claim, but possibly because the insurance company is putting their profit on top of everything else. Employers must provide complete information about the worker’s compensation to the newly hired employees. We strongly recommend giving written notice to your employer within 30 days, of reporting the injury or illness; otherwise, you may lose your rights to workers’ compensation.
Eada Hudes is an Arts student whose experiences in life make her really tougher than anyone else. She can lend you expert tips on diverse topics ranging from relationship to fashion, technology, making money, health and so on. Her write-ups are a window into her thoughts and knowledge.
