Big Buzz Around California’s AB 1897 and Temporary Employment Agencies
The Buzz around California’s AB 1897. Please note that this article will likely apply to other states than just California. Senate Bill AB 1897 has caused quite a stir in California. Our California clients have begun to pay attention in a big way since January 1st. There are pages and pages of analyses on AB 1897.
I first heard of the bill at the National Workers Comp and Disability Conference last November. When I first heard of AB 1897, I thought the presenters were just being too paranoid. That was until I actually read the bill.
I then started receiving emails from California companies and multi-state companies with interests in the state.
A great summary of the bill, its effects, and a few strategies to avert a claim from a temporary employee or employees were written by CalChamber. If you read the bottom of page 2 of the guide, there can be catastrophic results such as a class action lawsuit.
[From The CalChamber guide: ]
Basically, if the labor contractor fails to pay its employees properly or fails to provide workers’ compensation coverage for those employees, the client employer will now be legally responsible.
Why do I reference California so often on Workers Compensation? The laws and rules from the state often end up as similar concerns in other states. As we often say at J&L Insurance Consultants, what happens in California will be coming to a state near you in the future. California remains the Work Comp pacesetter for change.
Making sure your temporary employee provider has a legitimate policy in place is tantamount to not paying for employees your company did not realize it had in place.
Reviewing your contracts with your temporary service provider and verifying their Workers Comp policy in effect is going to be very important in the future.
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