California’s Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) announced today that its emergency regulations 36.7 and 46.2 for medical-legal evaluations and reporting, which went into effect on May 14, 2020 and were set to expire in January 2021, have been extended until October 12, 2021. This extension is in accordance with California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Executive Orders N-40-20 and N-71-20, and is the first 210-day extension of these regulations. The DWC added that if the Executive Orders remain in effect, the DWC may be entitled to a second 210-day extension.
These emergency regulations, which were established in response to the COVID-19 crisis, assist injured workers and employers in resolving workers’ compensation claims as this emergency period continues. The regulations also help avoid additional and undue delay for these claims by addressing how medical-legal evaluations may proceed during the pandemic, and provide alternative means for service of required forms related to medical-legal evaluations and reports. To view the full text of the emergency regulations, visit the DWC website.
SRTK will continue to monitor these developments and provide updates as available. Please contact us with any questions about what this may mean for you.