Workers Compensation

U.S. Department of Labor officials will be in Simi Valley next week to conduct information sessions for current and former workers of Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Field Laboratory seeking information about federal compensation and medical benefits for those who became ill as a result of working at the former nuclear research facility.

The state's investigation into alleged corruption at the government-run State Compensation Insurance Fund may be widening. On Tuesday, the California Highway Patrol confirmed that its investigators have been asked to join the inquiry into possible misuse of public funds at the $6-billion-a-year workers' compensation insurance company. The investigation comes at the request of fund Chairwoman Jeanne Cain, CHP spokesman Tom Marshall said.

Two state law enforcement agencies and the San Francisco County district attorney's office announced Wednesday that they were forming a task force to investigate a state-run insurance company. The criminal investigation by the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Insurance and the district attorney is focusing on allegations of potential misconduct by former top officials at the State Compensation Insurance Fund, commonly known as the State Fund.

sacramento -- The troubled state-backed workers' compensation insurance company sent a status report to lawmakers Tuesday, stressing its "significant progress in getting the organization back on track." But the 10-page report from Jeanne Cain, chairwoman of the San Francisco-based State Compensation Insurance Fund, was silent when it came to detailing a criminal probe into what Department of Insurance officials say may involve more then $1 billion in misappropriated state funds.

California's troubled, state-backed workers' compensation insurance company will no longer renew contracts with its largest middleman, potentially affecting the coverage of about 25,000 mainly small and medium-sized employers. The State Compensation Insurance Fund on Friday confirmed that it had stopped doing business with Long Beach-based Western Insurance Administrators Inc.

California Highway Patrol Officer Gary Hoag was investigating an accident on Interstate 5 near San Clemente when an approaching car spun out of control and pinned the veteran cop between the wrecked vehicles. His left leg was nearly severed, his spine was injured and his 29-year law enforcement career ended on Jan. 10, 2005. "Every step I take is extremely painful, which has greatly reduced the quality of the rest of my life," Hoag, 52, says.

Boeing Co. obtained a revised permit Thursday for handling rainwater runoff at its heavily contaminated and now shuttered nuclear power and rocket-testing lab in the hills above Simi Valley, despite heated protests from environmentalists. The revisions, which were unanimously approved by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, essentially lowered the risk of Boeing getting fined for exceeding mandated contamination levels of storm runoff.

A Southern California staffing company was sued Tuesday by the state, which accused the firm of helping building contractors evade a legal obligation to insure workers against on-the-job injuries. It was the second company in two weeks to face legal action from Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown as part of a campaign to go after suspected deadbeat employers and rein in what he calls "the underground economy."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature achievement -- his overhaul of California's long-troubled workers' compensation insurance system -- may be headed to the repair shop. The leaders of the Democratic-controlled Legislature, prodded by complaints from doctors, lawyers, labor unions and injured workers, have put the Republican governor on notice that rolling back major elements of the recent workers' comp overhaul will be a top priority when lawmakers reconvene today.

A bus driver has been charged with fraud and grand theft for allegedly completing a marathon while receiving workers' compensation for a back injury, prosecutors said. Johnny Chavarria, 57, a driver for the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District, allegedly finished the Big Sur Marathon while receiving thousands of dollars in workers' compensation funds. He was arrested Friday after an investigation.