Section 6354.5 Of Chapter 2. Education And Research From California Labor Code >> Division 5. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 2.
6354.5
. (a) Any insurer desiring to write workers' compensation
insurance shall maintain or provide occupational safety and health
loss control consultation services. The insurer may employ qualified
personnel to provide these services or provide the services through
another entity.
(b) The program of an insurer for furnishing loss control
consultation services shall be adequate to meet minimum standards
prescribed by this section. Required loss control consultation
services shall be adequate to identify the hazards exposing the
insured to, or causing the insured, significant workers' compensation
losses, and to advise the insured of steps needed to mitigate the
identified workers' compensation losses or exposures. The program of
an insurer for furnishing loss control consultation services shall
provide all of the following:
(1) A workplace survey, including discussions with management and,
where appropriate, nonmanagement personnel with permission of the
employer.
(2) A review of injury records with appropriate personnel.
(3) The development of a plan to improve the employer's health and
safety loss control experience, which shall include, where
appropriate, modifications to the employer's injury and illness
prevention program established pursuant to Section 6401.7. At the
time that an insurance policy is issued and annually thereafter, and
again when notified by Cal-OSHA that an insured employer has been
identified as a targeted employer pursuant to Section 6314.1, the
insurer shall provide each insured employer with a written
description of the consultation services together with a notice that
the services are available at no additional charge to the employer.
These notices to the employer shall appear in at least 10-point bold
type.
(c) The insurer shall not charge any fee in addition to the
insurance premium for safety and health loss control consultation
services.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require insurers
to provide loss control services to places of employment that do not
pose significant preventable hazards to workers.
(e) The director shall establish an insurance loss control
services coordinator position in the Department of Industrial
Relations. The coordinator shall provide information to employers
about the availability of loss control consultation services and
respond to employers' questions and complaints about loss control
consultation services provided by their insurer. The coordinator
shall notify the insurer of every complaint concerning loss control
consultation services. If the employer and the insurer are unable to
agree on a mutually satisfactory solution to the complaint, the
coordinator shall investigate the complaint. Whenever the coordinator
determines that the loss control consultation services provided by
the insurer are inadequate or inappropriate, he or she shall
recommend to the employer and the insurer the actions required to
bring the loss control program into compliance. If the employer and
the insurer are unable to agree on a mutually satisfactory solution
to the complaint, the coordinator shall forward his or her
recommendations to the director. The cost of providing the
coordinator services shall be paid out of the Workers' Occupational
Safety and Health Education Fund created by subdivision (a) of
Section 6354.7. However, no more than 20 percent of that fund may be
expended for this purpose each year.