Employer Survey on California's Workers' Compensation System

Thank you for taking this brief survey on California's workers' compensation system. Your responses are anonymous and it should only take approximately 10 minutes to complete. If you don't know how to answer some of the questions, please work with your insurance provider, broker or claims administrator.

Question Title

* 1. What are your top employee management issues or challenges in California? (May select up to three)

Employment-related litigation

Health and safety in the workplace

Compliance with California labor laws and mandates

Employee retention

Providing competitive pay and benefits

Employee recruitment and hiring

Relations with employee labor unions

Workers’ compensation claims

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 2. How would you rank the cost and effectiveness of the workers’ compensation system among the issues impacting your business or organization?

Among our top concerns

Not among our top concerns, but still a significant concern for our organization

Much lower concern than other issues

Not a concern

Question Title

* 3. In general, which of the following statements most accurately reflects your opinion of California’s workers’ compensation system?

PERFORMS WELL. California’s workers’ compensation is an effective, no-fault alternative to litigation over workplace injuries and illnesses that serves both employers and employees well. Costs are reasonable and predictable, benefits are provided in a timely manner to workers, benefit levels are fair and appropriate and medical care is of high quality, there are effective mechanisms for preventing fraud and abuse, and disputes can be resolved in a fair and timely manner.

CHALLENGED, BUT ADEQUATE. California’s workers’ compensation system works reasonably well for injured workers and employers as an alternative to litigation. The system provides a comprehensive and predictable safety net for workplace injuries and illnesses. However, the system is too complex, which drives up costs, makes claims difficult for employers and employees, erodes the quality of benefits and medical care, and leads to too much litigation, fraud and abuse.

PERFORMS POORLY. Employers and employees are not well-served by California’s workers’ compensation system. Costs are unreasonably high, too much money is wasted on disputes and litigation, there are too many opportunities for fraud and abuse that are harmful to workers and employers. It is too difficult for workers to navigate the system, medical care and other services are of low quality, too many claims are allowed into the system for non-work injuries and illnesses, and claims take too far too long to resolve.

Question Title

* 4. On a scale from “poor” to “excellent,” please rate the following features of California’s worker’s compensation system:

	Poor	Adequate / OK	Good	Excellent
Overall fairness / balance of system	Overall fairness / balance of system Poor	Overall fairness / balance of system Adequate / OK	Overall fairness / balance of system Good	Overall fairness / balance of system Excellent
Fairness and consistency of legal process and rulings	Fairness and consistency of legal process and rulings Poor	Fairness and consistency of legal process and rulings Adequate / OK	Fairness and consistency of legal process and rulings Good	Fairness and consistency of legal process and rulings Excellent
Cost and time needed to resolve disputes over claim acceptance	Cost and time needed to resolve disputes over claim acceptance Poor	Cost and time needed to resolve disputes over claim acceptance Adequate / OK	Cost and time needed to resolve disputes over claim acceptance Good	Cost and time needed to resolve disputes over claim acceptance Excellent
Ability of employers to ensure medical treatment is appropriate / occurs within Medical Provider Networks	Ability of employers to ensure medical treatment is appropriate / occurs within Medical Provider Networks Poor	Ability of employers to ensure medical treatment is appropriate / occurs within Medical Provider Networks Adequate / OK	Ability of employers to ensure medical treatment is appropriate / occurs within Medical Provider Networks Good	Ability of employers to ensure medical treatment is appropriate / occurs within Medical Provider Networks Excellent
Quality of medical care for workers	Quality of medical care for workers Poor	Quality of medical care for workers Adequate / OK	Quality of medical care for workers Good	Quality of medical care for workers Excellent
Amount of indemnity (wage replacement) benefits to workers	Amount of indemnity (wage replacement) benefits to workers Poor	Amount of indemnity (wage replacement) benefits to workers Adequate / OK	Amount of indemnity (wage replacement) benefits to workers Good	Amount of indemnity (wage replacement) benefits to workers Excellent
Access to medical care for workers	Access to medical care for workers Poor	Access to medical care for workers Adequate / OK	Access to medical care for workers Good	Access to medical care for workers Excellent
Ability to report and combat fraud	Ability to report and combat fraud Poor	Ability to report and combat fraud Adequate / OK	Ability to report and combat fraud Good	Ability to report and combat fraud Excellent
Ability of employers to ensure claims are work-related	Ability of employers to ensure claims are work-related Poor	Ability of employers to ensure claims are work-related Adequate / OK	Ability of employers to ensure claims are work-related Good	Ability of employers to ensure claims are work-related Excellent
Ability to return employees to work in a timely manner	Ability to return employees to work in a timely manner Poor	Ability to return employees to work in a timely manner Adequate / OK	Ability to return employees to work in a timely manner Good	Ability to return employees to work in a timely manner Excellent
Overall costs to employers	Overall costs to employers Poor	Overall costs to employers Adequate / OK	Overall costs to employers Good	Overall costs to employers Excellent
Ease of filing claim for workers	Ease of filing claim for workers Poor	Ease of filing claim for workers Adequate / OK	Ease of filing claim for workers Good	Ease of filing claim for workers Excellent
Cost and time needed to resolve disputes over medical treatment	Cost and time needed to resolve disputes over medical treatment Poor	Cost and time needed to resolve disputes over medical treatment Adequate / OK	Cost and time needed to resolve disputes over medical treatment Good	Cost and time needed to resolve disputes over medical treatment Excellent