1. Commission on Health & Safety & Workers' Comp

Reports and Studies

Reports and Studies by Date of Issue

There are two ways of locating CHSWC Research Reports and Studies. You may find them in by topic by clicking Reports and Studies by Topic, or you may find them by date of issue here.

CHSWC studies that have been presented in Draft version, pending Feedback and Final Approval at Commission Meetings are posted in the Feedback section of the website. Only approved reports will be posted on this page.

2024 Reports

• If Your Employer is Illegally Uninsured: How to Apply for Workers’ Compensation Benefits
  English (Updated 2024)

2023 Reports

Coming Soon

2022 Reports

• CHSWC 2022 Annual Report
• WOSHTEP - 2022 Advisory Board Annual Report
• COVID-19 in the California Workers’ Compensation System: A Study of COVID-19 Claims and Presumptions Under Senate Bill 1159, RAND, 2021.
  • COVID-19’s Impacts on California’s Workers’ Compensation System. Evaluating the Effects of Senate Bill 1159, RAND, 2021 (Research Brief)
  • COVID-19 in the California Workers' Compensation System. A Study of COVID-19 Claims and Presumptions Under Senate Bill 1159, RAND, Pre-Publication, 2021
    • Related literature review article from RAND:
      • Worker and employer experiences with COVID-19 and the California Workers' Compensation System: a review of the literature. Quigley, DD, Qureshi, N, Gahlon, G, Gidengil, C. Am J Ind Med. 2022; 1- 11. doi:10.1002/ajim.23326

2021 Reports

• 2021 CHSWC Annual Report
• WOSHTEP - 2021 Advisory Board Annual Report
• Posttraumatic Stress in California’s Workers’ Compensation System. A Study of Mental Health Presumptions for Firefighters and Peace Officers Under Senate Bill 542, RAND, 2021.
  • Research Brief on First Responder Claims for PTSD in Workers’ Compensation Assessing the Effects of Senate Bill 542 in California, RAND, 2021.
    • Public comments on First Responder Mental Health Presumption study from CHSWC Commissioners Kessler, Bouma, and Roxborough, submitted October 5, 2021
    • RAND Response to Commissioner Comments
• Early Care & Education Workers - Peer Educator Training Guide, 2021
  (Also available in Spanish)

2020 Reports

• CHSWC 2020 Annual Report
• WOSHTEP - 2020 Advisory Board Annual Report
• Evaluation of California Senate Bill 863 Medical Care Reforms, RAND, 2020

2019 Reports

• CHSWC 2019 Annual Report
• WOSHTEP - 2019 Advisory Board Annual Report

2018 Reports

• CHSWC 2018 Annual Report
• WOSHTEP - 2018 Advisory Board Annual Report
• Issue Brief Title: Evaluation of the Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit (SJDB) Program Available to Workers with Permanent Disability in the California Workers’ Compensation System - October 2018
  • Senator Ricardo Lara Letter about Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit (SJDB) - February 2018
  • CHSWC Response to Senator Ricardo Lara Letter about Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit (SJDB) - November 2018
• Issue Brief on First Responder Behavioral Health - September 2018 (See also, October 2017 report)
  • Assemblymember Timothy Grayson Letter about First Responder Behavioral Health - May 2017
  • Assemblymember Timothy Grayson Letter Response about First Responder Behavioral Health - September 2018
• Medical Care Provided to California's Injured Workers: Monitoring System Performance Using Administrative Data - by Barbara O. Wynn, Andrew W. Mulcahy, Harry H. Liu, Rosalie Malsberger, Edward N. Okeke, RAND, 2018
• Report on Evaluation of the Return-to-Work Fund in California's Workers' Compensation System: Performance to Date and Options for Modification - Michael S. Dworsky, Denise D. Quigley, Stephanie L. Rennane, Madeline B. Doyle, RAND, 2018
  • Public Comments on the RTW Fund Draft Report

2017 Reports

• CHSWC 2017 Annual Report
• WOSHTEP - 2017 Advisory Board Annual Report
• Issue Brief on First Responder Behavioral Health - October 2017
  • Assemblymember Timothy Grayson Letter about First Responder Behavioral Health - May 2017
  • Assemblymember Timothy Grayson Letter Response about First Responder Behavioral Health - July 2017
• Qualified Medical Evaluators: Updating Trends in Evaluations, Availability, and Equity - October 2017
  • Public Comments on CHSWC QME Study
• Response Letter to Senator Bradford about RTW Fund Inquiry, January 2017 (see 2016 Report and 2016 Senator Mendoza letter)
• Excessive Workload in the Janitorial Industry, An Emerging Health and Safety Concern. Suzanne Teran and Evan vanDommelen-Gonzalez, Labor Occupational Health Program – University of California, Berkeley - March 2017
• California's Janitorial Industry: Does Higher Compensation for Unionized Workers Lead to Greater Production Pressure and Higher Injury Rates? - Frank Neuhauser, University of California, Berkeley - March 2017

2016 Reports

• Benefits and Earnings Losses for Permanently Disabled Workers in California, Trends Through the Great Recession and Effects of Recent Reforms, RAND, 2016
• Guidebook for Injured Workers (now a DIR publication)

2015 Reports

• Infection Risk from "Sharps" Injuries for Non-healthcare Workers, March 2015.

2014 Reports

• CHSWC 2014 Annual Report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• WOSHTEP - 2014 Advisory Board annual report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• California Safety Officer Workers' Compensation Cancer Presumption - Impact of AB 1035 (using 420 weeks and signed into law) - Bickmore, September 2014
• Update on IMR and IBR, DWC Medical Unit, August 2014
• Identifying Permanently Disabled Workers with Disproportionate Earnings Losses for Supplemental Payments - RAND, February 2014

2013 Reports

• Inspection Targeting Issues for the California Department of Industrial Relations Division of Occupational Safety and Health - RAND, October 2013
• CHSWC 2013 Annual Report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• WOSHTEP - 2013 Advisory Board annual report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• Formulating a Copy Services Fee Schedule - Berkeley Research Group, October 2013
  • Collected public comments (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• The Impact of Experience Rating on Small Employers: Would Lowering the Threshold for Experience Rating Improve Safety? - RAND, 2012
• Identifying Risky Opioid Prescribing Practices - UCLA 2012
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• History Archives: The Original 1913 California Workers' Compensation Law

2012 Reports

• WOSHTEP - 2012 Advisory Board annual report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• CHSWC 2012 Annual Report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• Impact of the Adoption of AMA-based Permanent Disability Rating Schedule in California
• An Evaluation of the California Illness and Injury Prevention Program - RAND, 2012
  • Full Report
• Are There Unusually Effective Occupational Safety and Health Inspectors and Inspection Practices? - RAND, 2012

2011 Reports

• Use of Compound Drugs, Medical Foods, and Co-Packs in California’s Workers’ Compensation Program: An Overview of the Issues, RAND, January 2011
• Medical Care Provided Under California’s Workers’ Compensation Program: Effects of the Reforms and Additional Opportunities to Improve the Quality and Efficiency of Care, RAND, 2011
  Separate Appendices document
• RAND/UCLA Quality-of-Care Measures for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Tools for Assessing Quality of Care and Appropriateness of Surgery, RAND, 2011
  • Summary
  • Full Report
  • Appendix I
  • Appendix II
• If Your Employer is Illegally Uninsured: How to Apply for Workers’ Compensation Benefits
  English (Updated 2024) | Spanish (Not Updated)
• Working Safer or Just Working Longer? The Impact of an Aging Workforce on Occupational Injury and Illness Costs, February 2011

2010 Reports

• CHSWC 2010 Annual Report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• WOSHTEP - 2010 Advisory Board annual report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• Workers' Compensation Reform and Return to Work: The California Experience, RAND, pre-publication copy (pending December 2010 version)
• Evaluating the QME Process: Is it Equitable and Efficient? September 2010
• Letter To All Interested Parties from Christine Baker, Executive Officer, introducing The Whole Worker booklet
• The Whole Worker: Guidelines for Integrating Occupational Health and Safety with Workplace Wellness Programs, 2010
• Study of Benefit Notices and Recommendations, July 2010
• The Frequency, Severity, and Economic Consequences of Musculoskeletal Injuries to Firefighters in California, RAND, 2010
• Review of Disability Evaluation Delays and Supplemental QME Reports, June 2010
• How Effective are Employer Return to Work Programs? RAND, February 2010
• Report on the Return-To-Work Program Established in Labor Code Section 139.48
• Helping Injured Employees Return to Work: Practical Guidance Under Workers’ Compensation and Disability Rights Laws in California, February 2010
  (Note: This is a 2010 publication prior to SB 863 changes and superseded by the Guidebook for Injured Workers.)

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2009 Reports

• CHSWC 2009 Annual Report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• WOSHTEP - 2009 Advisory Board annual report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• California's Volatile Workers' Compensation Insurance Market: Problems and Recommendations for Change, RAND, December 2009
• Selected Indicators in Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation: 2009 Report Card for California, December 2009
• Report on Self Insurance Groups, December 2009
• Comparing the costs of delivering medical benefits under group health and workers' compensation: "Could integration pay for covering the working uninsured?" - October 2009
• Regulatory Actions that Could Reduce Unnecessary Medical Expenses Under California's Workers' Compensation Program, RAND, 2009
• Hospital Emergency Department Services Furnished Under California's Workers' Compensation Program, RAND, 2009
• Facility Services for Ambulatory Surgery, RAND, 2009
• Inpatient Hospital Services: An Update on Services Provided Under California's Workers' Compensation Program Report, RAND
• Fraud in Workers’ Compensation Payroll Reporting: How Much Employer Fraud Exists? What is the Impact on Honest Employers? - January 2009 (Update to the 2007 CHSWC report of same title presented at a Commission meeting; 2009 update funded by the Fraud Assessment Commission)

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2008 Reports

• 2008 Annual Report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• The Impact of Occupational Injury and Illness on Pricing an Integrated Disability Benefit, October 2008
• WOSHTEP - 2008 Advisory Board annual report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• Workers' Compensation Medical Payment Accuracy Study, California Department of Insurance, June 2008
• Occupational Safety and Health for Public Safety Employees: Assessing the Evidence and the Implications for Public Policy, 2008
• Quality Management and Job Quality: How the ISO 9001 Standard for Quality Management Systems Affects Employees and Employers, August 18, 2008
• Heat Hazards in Agriculture, A Guide For Employers To Carry Out Tailgate Training for Workers - Spanish version
• Research Colloquium on Workers' Compensation Medical Benefit Delivery and Return to Work, RAND
• Memorandum to Christine Baker: Impact of relaxing restrictions on eligibility for temporary disability payments beyond the current 2 years from commencement of benefit payment, January 26, 2007

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2007 Reports

• 2007 Annual Report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• WOSHTEP - 2007 Advisory Board annual report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• Medical Care Provided California's Injured Workers: An Overview of the Issues, RAND, September 2007
• Memorandum to Christine Baker, Executive Officer of CHSWC regarding "Analysis of ratings under the new PD schedule, through June 2007", August 23, 2007
• Fraud in Workers' Compensation Payroll Reporting: How Much Employer Fraud Exists? What is the Impact on Honest Employers?, August 2007
• Split Class Codes: Evidence of Fraudulent Payroll Reporting, August 2007
• Pay-for-Performance in California's Workers' Compensation Medical Treatment System, RAND, August 2007
• Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund, Background Paper, CHSWC, April 27, 2007
• Report and Recommendations on the Spinal Surgery Second-Opinion Process, CHSWC, April 27, 2007
• Draft CHSWC response to community concerns regarding DWC workers' compensation audits ( February 2007

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2006 Reports

• WOSHTEP - 2006 Advisory Board Annual Report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• California Research Colloquium on Workers' Compensation Medical Benefit Delivery and Return to Work, RAND, 2006
• Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation - 2006 annual report, December 2006 (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• "Workers' Compensation in California: A Guidebook for Injured Workers," November 2006 Edition
  NOTE: This has been superceded by an updated and revised version. See current version.
• A report on the "Forum on catastrophe preparedness: Partnering to protect workplaces," held on April 7, 2006
• Impact of physician-dispensing of repackaged drugs on California workers' compensation, employers cost, and workers' access to quality care, July 2006
• How to create a workers' compensation carve-out in California: Practical advice for unions and employers, 2006
• Evaluating medical treatment guideline sets for injured workers in California, RAND, April 2006 - (Full Report)
• Updated and revised CHSWC recommendations to DWC on workers' compensation medical treatment guidelines
• AB 1987 and return-to-work incentives and alternatives, April 2006
• A report on Health Care Organizations (HCOs) in workers' compensation, April 2006
• CHSWC background paper on the impact of terrorism and California workers' compensation, April 2006
• Issue paper on tax status of Self-Insured Groups (SIGs), April 2006

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2005 Reports

• CHSWC 2005 annual report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• WOSHTEP - 2005 Advisory Board annual report (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• Evaluating Medical Treatment Guideline Sets for Injured Workers in California, RAND, 2005
• Report: An evaluation of California's permanent disability rating system, RAND, 2005 - Full Report
• Paper: Paying for repackaged drugs under the California Workers' Compensation Official Medical Fee Schedule, May 2005
• Paper: Payments for burn patients under California's Official Medical Fee Schedule for injured workers, May 2005
• United States Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation market in California, April 2005
• Workers' Compensation in California: A guidebook for injured workers, February 2005
  NOTE: This has been superceded by an updated and revised version. See current version.

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2004 Reports

• Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation - 2004 annual report, December 2004 (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• Report: Assessment of 24-hour care options for California, 2004
• Workers' Occupational Safety and Health Training and Education Program (WOSHTEP), November 2004 (No Longer Available on Live Site)
• Adopting medicare fee schedules
• Section-by-section review of SB 899

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2003 Reports

• Adopting Medicare Fee Schedules: Considerations for the California Workers' Compensation Program, RAND, 2003
• Judicial Study - Improving "The Courts": Candidate Recommendations for the Adjudication of Claims Before the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (2003), full report
• Evaluation of California's Permanent Disability Rating Schedule: Interim Report - December 2003
• Reforms of 2003, October 2003 AB 227 and SB 228
• Multilingual Health & Safety Resources a Guide to Worker Training Materials on the web
• Memorandum - Update on Labor Code Section 132a and Employer Termination of Health Insurance Coverage: California Supreme Court Decision in State of California Dept. of Rehabilitation v. WCAB (Lauher)
• Recommendations for improvement of the IMC's of injured workers and regulations of QMEs
• Workers' Compensation Medical Payment Systems: A Proposal for Simplification and Administrative Efficiency - August 2003

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2002 Reports

• A Guidebook for Injured Workers, 2002
  NOTE: This has been superceded by an updated and revised version. See current version.
  
• CHSWC Strategic Plan 2002
• Doctors and Courts: Do Legal Decisions Affect Medical Treatment Practice? An Evaluation of Treating Physician Presumption in the California Workers' Compensation System (November 2002)
• CHSWC and AB 749 as Amended (October 2002) CHSWC and AB 749 (February 2002)
• State of Workers' Compensation Insurance Industry in California (April 2002)

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2001 Reports

• Permanent Disability at Private, Self-Insured Firms: A Study of Earnings Loss, Replacement, and Return to Work for Workers' Compensation Claimants, 2001
• Trends in Earnings Loss from Disbling Workplace Injuries in California: The Role of Economic Conditions, RAND

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2000 Reports

• Update Workers' Compensation and the California Economy (December 2000)Workers' Compensation and the California Economy (April 2000)
• Study of the Cost of Pharmaceuticals in Workers' Compensation (June 2000) Executive Summary
• Recommendations: Information for Injured Workers' (May 2000)
• Report on the Campaign Against Workers' Compensation Fraud' (May 2000)
• Issue Paper on Labor Code Section 5814' (April 2000)

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1999 Reports

• Preliminary Evidence on the Implementation of Baseball Arbitration' (November 1999)
• Carve-Outs' in Workers' Compensation: An Analysis of Experience in the California Construction Industry (September 1999)
• Background Paper on Labor Code Section 5814 (March 1999)

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1998 Reports

• CHSWC Report on the Workers' Compensation Audit Function (December 1998) Executive Summary
• Compensating Permanent Workplace Injuries: A Study of the California System, RAND, 1998
• Employers Illegally Uninsured for Workers' Compensation - CHSWC Recommendations to Identify Them and Bring them Into Compliance (December 1998)
• Protecting and Educating Young Workers: Report of the California Study Group on Young Worker Health and Safety (March 1998)

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1997 Reports

• Workers' Compensation Anti-Fraud Activities - Report on the CHSWC Public Fact-Finding Hearing (September 1997)
• Evaluating the Reforms of the Medical-Legal Process Using the WCIRB Permanent Disability Survey (1997) Executive Summary
• Findings and Recommendations on California's Permanent Partial Disability System: Executive Summary (1997)
• Does Modified Work Facilitate Return To Work For Temporarily Or Permanently Disabled Workers?' (August 1997)
• Vocational Rehabilitation Benefit: An Analysis of Costs, Characteristics, and the Impact of the 1993 Reforms (August 1997)

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July 2023