Dear Assembly Member Leonard:
We regret to inform you that the League of California
Cities and the California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
are opposed to AB 2131. (Leonard): Workers' Compensation:
infectious diseases: dependants.
Existing workers' compensation law generally requires
employers to secure the payment of workers' compensation,
including medical treatment, for injuries incurred by their
employees that arise out of or in the course of employment.
Existing law also defines "injury" in the case of
the specified state and local firefighting, law enforcement
personnel, and patrol members, to include any blood-borne
infectious disease that develops or manifests itself during
the period while the member is in the service of the
governmental entity.
This bill would provide that if a person who is a specified
state or local firefighting, law enforcement, or patrol member
sustains an injury that meets the definition of a blood-borne
infectious disease, and a dependant of that person contracts
the same disease from the person, the dependant shall be
compensated, for the duration of the disease, for all
medically necessary health care costs associated with the
disease.
This bill subjects public agencies to costly claims that
have no job causation.
Current worker compensation legislation places the burden
of proof of injury on the employer. This leaves the employer
clearly defenseless in rejecting unwarranted claims,
especially with regard to employees' dependents. To compensate
employees and their dependants based upon presumptive job
causation of injury that cannot be validated simply leaves an
employer or public agency to accept claims that could be
pre-existing.
For the reasons stated above, we are opposed to AB 2131.
Please feel free to contact Amy Brown at the League at (916)
658-8279 or Steve Keil at (916) 327-7500. ext 521.
Sincerely,
Amy Brown,
League of California Cities
Steve Keil,
California State Association of Counties
