A California Workers' Compensation ballot measure proposed by a Turlock attorney who represents injured workers has gained state approval to be circulated for signatures.

William Morris has announced that he has approval from the California Secretary of State to begin collecting signatures to qualify the initiative for the state ballot. He needs 433,971 valid signatures by the deadline of September 10.

The proposed measure would change several provisions of Workers' Comp law regarding medical benefits for injured workers and the payments to medical practitioners who treat them.

Attorney General Jerry Brown gave the proposed initiative the title of "Workers' Compensation. Statutory Change." It had originally been called "Fair Medical Treatment for Workers."

Californians Injured At Work supports and stands behind attorney Morris and supports his ballot initiative and encourages all injured workers in California to help get the required signatures to place this important initiatve on the ballot. To understand this initiative, watch the exclusive interview that we had with attorney Morris.

Californians Injured At Work" brings you an exclusive half hour interview with the author of the Fair Medical Treatment Initiative, Turlock Attorney William Morris who explains what the ballot initiative is all about.
Click on the camera to watch the video.

How You Can Help
You can help get this initiative on the ballot by committing yourself to help get signatures to qualify it for the ballot. It's not going to be an easy task, and it's going to take alot of your valuable time but if all those interested in bringing back a bit of fairness and equity to the California Workers Compensation system will give it their all, maybe we can make a difference. It's up to you!

Big business and the Chamber of Commerce have worked hard to take away your benefits and it's time to deliver a message that the working people of California won't stand for it! They may be able to influence our legislators to pass bad laws, but we have the right to correct these laws by use of the initiative process which is the voice of working people like you and I. It's time to bring fairness and equity back to the Workers Compensation system.

Stand outside the local WCAB and get signatures there. Leave a copy at your doctor's office or attorney's office for injured workers to sign. Keep in mind that you need a separate petition section for each county of residence of the signers.

Petition Instructions
1. Every circulator must first sign the Certificate of Circulator. This need only be done once. The circulator is the person who completes and signs the declaration after obtaining signatures. More than one section of signatures may be obtained by a circulator. So before passing a section of the petition around for signatures, make sure that at least one Certificate of Circulator has been signed by the circulator.

2. There are three different versions of the petition which are called sections. One version is short and suitable for obtaining up to 7 signatures. Another version is medium sized and intended for up to 15 signatures. The last version is for up to 55 signatures. The pages of the various versions are not interchangeable. So if you find that you are running out of room for signatures, simply start over again with a new section. If you do not fill in the section with signatures, it is not a problem, but please do not remove uncompleted pages.

3. All signatures on a section must be from the same county, so if you have people from different counties, have them put their signatures on different petition sections.

4. Completing the petition section must be done by hand and by the responsible person. Please don't help by filling in the information for another.

5. Please mail the petition sections to the following address when completed:

California Initiative
P.O.Box 1640
Turlock, CA 95381

Below are pdf files of all three of the initiative petitions:

Click here to download the 7 signature petition.
Click here to download the 15 signature petition.
Click here to download the 55 signature petition.

You will also need to complete the "Certificate of Circulator" as well.

Click here to download the Certificate of Circulator.

(PROPOSED) FAIR MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR WORKERS ACT

Section 1. Statement of Principles of Interpretation:
a. The People of the State of California declare that the working population of this State are important to this State because it is from them that the majority of the State's tax revenue is obtained, and it is because of the working population that this State is able to construct its buildings and build its roads and monuments, and it is because of the working population that there is food, natural resources, and manufactured goods available to the public for its use. It is because of the working population of this State that the public is able to obtain goods and services that support the health and well being of each of the citizens of this State. Because of all of these benefits that the people of this State receive from those people who perform the work necessary to obtain these goods and services, the People of the State of California hereby declare that the most valuable asset of this State is its working population.

b. Because of the importance of the working population to the State's economy, it is important to the State of California that when a worker is injured because of his or her employment that worker should receive prompt and effective medical treatment through the State's Workers' Compensation system which is designed and intended to return the injured worker back to work in the most effective and timely manner possible.

c. The People of the State of California recognize that each worker is an individual whose need for medical treatment may not be the same as another worker's, and that the determination of appropriate medical care is best left in the hands of a medical practitioner licensed by the State of California who is familiar with the specific injured worker and is familiar with how the specific injured worker's ability to work has been affected by the injury.

d. The People of the State of California declare that medical treatment that is quickly delivered is more effective in resolving the effects of an injury than medical treatment that is delayed, and that the delivery of prompt medical treatment is facilitated by the treating physician's being confident that timely payment for services and expenses incurred in providing medical treatment shall be forthcoming.

e. As a result of being licensed by the State of California, the People of the State of California declare that a licensed medical practitioner has been determined by the State of California to be a competent deliverer of medical treatment, and that any question of the medical practitioner's competency is an issue that should be addressed by the appropriate licensing authority as opposed to being an issue that causes any delay of medical treatment in the Workers' Compensation system. Therefore, a medical practitioner who has been licensed by the State of California to provide medical treatment shall be considered to be delivering reasonable and necessary medical treatment for work injuries in the Workers' Compensation system. This declaration shall not apply or be used for any purpose in any litigation initiated in the Superior Court of this State because of an allegation of medical malpractice.

f. By passage of this initiative, the People of the State of California establish a new system for providing medical care to injured workers. Any laws inconsistent with this initiative are annulled forthwith, and will have no further force or effect.

Section 2. Any worker injured because of his employment is entitled to receive, and shall receive medical treatment at the expense of his employer or his employer's Workers' Compensation carrier provided by a medical practitioner licensed by the State of California which is chosen by the worker without limit as to number of practitioners selected, location of the practitioner or specialty of the practitioner. Said treatment shall not be subject to a requirement for any authorization issued prior to the treatment so long as the worker or a representative of the worker has provided the employer with written notice that the worker has sustained an injury because of the worker's employment, and the employer has not filed any documents with the State contesting liability for the injury.

Section 3. Any medical practitioner licensed by the State of California to provide medical treatment within this State shall receive prompt payment for services provided to any worker meeting the qualifications of Section 2 of this initiative. Prompt payment shall be considered to be made so long as it is made within a period of time of no less than 60 days from the date a bill for services and expenses is mailed to the employer or the employer's Workers' Compensation carrier together with a brief description of the medical treatment provided, and a declaration by the medical practitioner under penalty of perjury that the medical treatment is believed by the practitioner to be reasonable and necessary to cure and/or relieve the injured worker from the effects of the industrial injury.

Section 4. Any bill for pharmaceuticals or diagnostic evaluations prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner shall be paid in the same manner as the bill of a medical practitioner so long as the bill is submitted together with the medical practitioner's prescription and the relevant and applicable declaration of the medical practitioner described in Section 3. Pharmaceuticals may be dispensed by the treating medical practitioner.

Section 5. Payment of any bill provided by a medical practitioner shall be considered adequate and sufficient if the payment is consistent with a schedule of reasonable medical charges established by the Administrative Director of the Department of Industrial Relations. Said schedule shall be adopted and reviewed for adequacy by the Administrative Director each fiscal year with notice and opportunity for comment provided to the public. Should the Administrative Director fail to establish a schedule of reasonable medical charges or fail to review the schedule of reasonable medical charges on an annual basis, the medical practitioner's bill shall be paid in accordance with the practitioner's usual and customary charges for the treatment provided for so long as a schedule of reasonable medical charges is not established or properly reviewed as required herein.