BILL NUMBER: AB 305	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 3, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 30, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 15, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 30, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 26, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gonzalez
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Chiu, Cristina Garcia, and McCarty)

                        FEBRUARY 12, 2015

   An act to amend Section 4663 of, and to add Section 4660.2 to, the
Labor Code, relating to employment.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 305, as amended, Gonzalez. Workers' compensation: permanent
disability apportionment.
   Existing workers' compensation law generally requires employers to
secure payment of workers' compensation, including medical
treatment, for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out
of, or in the course of, employment. An employer is liable only for
the percentage of the permanent disability directly caused by the
injury arising out of, and occurring in the course of, employment.
   Existing law requires apportionment of permanent disability to be
based on causation, and a physician who prepares a report addressing
the issue of permanent disability due to a claimed industrial injury
is required to address the issue of causation of the permanent
disability. The physician is required to make an apportionment
determination by finding what approximate percentage of the permanent
disability was caused by the direct result of injury arising out of
and occurring in the course of employment, and what approximate
percentage of the permanent disability was caused by other factors
both before and subsequent to the industrial injury, including prior
industrial injuries.
   This bill would prohibit apportionment of permanent disability, in
the case of a physical injury occurring on or after January 1, 2016,
from being based on pregnancy,  menopause, or osteoporosis
causally related to   or  menopause if the
condition is contemporaneous with the claimed physical 
psychiatric  injury. The bill would also prohibit apportionment
of permanent disability, in the case of a psychiatric injury
occurring on or after January 1, 2016, from being based on
psychiatric disability or impairment caused by sexual harassment,
 pregnancy, menopause, or osteoporosis causally related to
  pregnancy or  menopause if the condition is
contemporaneous with the claimed  psychiatric  injury. The
bill would also provide, notwithstanding any other law, for injuries
occurring on or after January 1, 2016, that the impairment ratings
for breast cancer and the aftereffects of the disease, known as
sequelae, shall in no event be less than comparable ratings for
prostate cancer and its sequelae.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 4660.2 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
   4660.2.  Notwithstanding any other law, for injuries occurring on
or after January 1, 2016, the impairment ratings for breast cancer
and its sequelae shall in no event be less than comparable ratings
for prostate cancer and its sequelae.
  SEC. 2.  Section 4663 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
   4663.  (a) Apportionment of permanent disability shall be based on
causation.
   (b) Any physician who prepares a report addressing the issue of
permanent disability due to a claimed industrial injury shall in that
report address the issue of causation of the permanent disability.
   (c) (1) In order for a physician's report to be considered
complete on the issue of permanent disability, the report must
include an apportionment determination.
   (2) (A) A physician shall make an apportionment determination by
finding what approximate percentage of the permanent disability was
caused by the direct result of injury arising out of and occurring in
the course of employment and what approximate percentage of the
permanent disability was caused by other factors both before and
subsequent to the industrial injury, including prior industrial
injuries.
   (B) Apportionment in the case of a physical injury occurring on or
after January 1, 2016, shall not be based on  any 
 either  of the following conditions if those conditions are
contemporaneous with the claimed physical injury:
   (i) Pregnancy.
   (ii) Menopause. 
   (iii) Osteoporosis causally related to menopause. 
   (C) Apportionment in the case of a psychiatric injury occurring on
or after January 1, 2016, shall not be based on psychiatric
disability or impairment caused by sexual harassment that is
contemporaneous with the claimed psychiatric injury, or caused by any
of the conditions listed in subparagraph (B) that are
contemporaneous with the claimed psychiatric injury.
   (3)  If the physician is unable to include an apportionment
determination in his or her report, the physician shall state the
specific reasons why the physician could not make a determination of
the effect of a prior condition on the permanent disability arising
from the injury. The physician shall then consult with other
physicians or refer the employee to another physician from whom the
employee is authorized to seek treatment or evaluation in accordance
with this division in order to make the final determination.
   (d) An employee who claims an industrial injury shall, upon
request, disclose all previous permanent disabilities or physical
impairments.
   (e) Subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) shall not apply to injuries or
illnesses covered under Sections 3212, 3212.1, 3212.2, 3212.3,
3212.4, 3212.5, 3212.6, 3212.7, 3212.8, 3212.85, 3212.9, 3212.10,
3212.11, 3212.12, 3213, and 3213.2.