WEDNESDAY MARCH FOURTH MEETING
OF THE RULES COMMITTEE TO ORDER
AND SECRETARY PLEASE CALL THE
ROLL SENATORS BATES. BATES HERE
MORNING MORNING HERE ROUGH
ROUGH HERE WILK ATKINS HERE
ATKINS AND TO MY COLLEAGUES LET
ME JUST LET YOU KNOW THAT
SENATOR WILKES FLIGHT GOT
CANCELED AND- THAT'S THAT'S
ALWAYS A DIFFICULT THING WHEN
YOU'RE TRYING TO GET BACK IN
TIME FOR A MEETING SO- TO
EXPLAIN HIS ABSENCE THAT IS THE
REASON- BEFORE WE BRING UP- OF.
THE APPOINTEES TO- HERE LET ME
TRY AND SEE IF I CAN HAVE A
CONSENT AGENDA I KNOW THAT
WE'RE GOING TO SEPARATE IF YOU
OUT BUT I WOULD ENTERTAIN. ITEM
TWO GOVERNOR'S GOVERNORS
APPOINTEES NOT REQUIRED TO
APPEAR D. AND E. N. ITEM THREE
BILL REFERRALS FOR A CONSENT.
OUR THEY YOU CENTER ROTH CALL
THE ROLL. SENATORS BATES. BATES
MONNING MONNING I. ROTH IRA
ATKINS THE CONCISE I ZERO THAT
IS A OUT I WILL ASK I CAN GOV I
DIDN'T. ARE NOT REQUIRED REPEAT
BE AND C. AS ONE I IS SET OKAY
THAT'S EXCEPT SO MOVE BY SO
ROTH I'M SICK. SENATORS MONO I
MONNING AYE ROTH ROTH IRA.
ATKINS FIVE CAN THAT IS THREE
ZERO IN IT IS OUT AND SO LET ME
GO AHEAD AND CALL MARGUERITE
SWEENEY UP FOR APPOINTMENT TO
THE WORKERS COMPENSATION.
APPEALS BOARD WELCOME. A MUCH
IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU HE- LET
ME SEE I ASK IF YOU WANT TO
ENTER ANYWAY THAT MIGHT BE HERE
WITH YOU THAT YOU WOULD TO
POINT OUT AND THEN AFTER THAT
YOU CAN GO RIGHT INTO YOUR-
OPENING COMMENTS WILL GO TO THE
MEMBERS WELL THANK YOU WELL I
WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE. TWO OF
MY COLLEAGUES BRILLIANT LAWYERS
AT THE WORKERS COMPENSATION
APPEALS BOARD WHO ARE HERE
TODAY. THE WILD WIND AND RACHEL
BRAILLE. WELCOME YOU'RE FREE
SAN FRANCISCO IF THEY HAD OTHER
BUSINESS SO. THE REPORT ALSO
COM THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US
TODAY. WELCOME THANK YOU AND
THANK YOU TO THE COMMITTEE FOR
PERMITTING ME TO MEET WITH YOU
TODAY. OUR I WAS HERE ONCE
BEFORE AND IT'S JUST AS
EXCITING TO BE HERE AGAIN. I
WANT TO THANK GOVERNOR NEWSOME
FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO
CONTINUE TO SERVE THE PEOPLE OF
CALIFORNIA AS A COMMISSIONER ON
THE WORKERS COMPENSATION
APPEALS BOARD. WHEN I ARRIVED
AT THE BOARD. WILL BE EIGHT
YEARS NEXT MONTH I BROUGHT WITH
ME THIRTY THREE YEARS OF
EXPERIENCE REPRESENTING INJURED
WORKERS I ALSO REPRESENTED SOME
EMPLOYERS BUT BY AND LARGE
INJURED WORKERS. ACTUALLY
THOUSANDS OF THEM I ENJOYED MY
WORK VERY MUCH I LEARNED A
GREAT DEAL. BOTH LEGAL
KNOWLEDGE AND ALSO. BACK
MAGICALLY HOW TO WORK WITH MY
OPPONENTS TO ACHIEVE THE BEST
AND FEAR RESULTS HAD A PRESENT
CASES IN FRONT OF JUDGES. IT
WAS OF A JOY TO HELP PEOPLE
WHEN THEY NEEDED IT TO NAVIGATE
THROUGH A SYSTEM THAT IS
SOMETIMES VERY DIFFICULT. NOW
FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS I HAVE
BEEN FULLY ENGAGED IN OUR WORK
OF JUDICIAL. APPELLATE REVIEW.
THERE ARE ABOUT A HUNDRED AND
SEVENTY WORKERS COMPENSATION
JUDGES IN THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA. AND ARE SEVEN
MEMBER COMMISSION IN SAN
FRANCISCO ARE TASKED WITH
REVIEWING APPEALS FROM
DECISIONS OF THOSE JUDGES. IT'S
OUR JOB TO MAKE SURE THAT THE
IN EACH CASE THE LAW WAS
CORRECTLY AND FAIRLY APPLIED.
WITH YOUR CONFIRMATION I
PROMISE THAT I WILL CONTINUE TO
THE BEST OF MY ABILITY TO
PERFORM MY RESPONSIBILITY. YOU
VERY MUCH SENATOR ROSS ARE YOU
READY TO. THANK YOU MAYOR PRO
TEM ACTUALLY I HAVE NO
QUESTIONS- MA'AM
CONGRATULATIONS THANK YOU FOR
YOUR WILLINGNESS TO CONTINUE TO
SERVE A- OF ALL THE
APPOINTMENTS THIS IS PROBABLY
ONE OF THOSE THAT. INVOLVES A
LOT OF A LOT OF WORK IN. THANK
YOU VERY MUCH FOR WHAT YOU DO
SO I LOOK FORWARD TO SUPPORTING
AND- MOVING YOUR CONFIRMATION
FROM GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY.
THANK YOU SENATOR. THANK YOU
SENATOR. SENATOR BATES. LET ME
AYE ECHO THE SAME COMMENTS
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR
APPOINTMENT AND THANK YOU FOR
THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE OVER
THE MANY YEARS THAT YOU HAVE
SERVED YOUR PRESENTATION GREAT
I DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO DO
FACE TO FACE WITH YOU BUT
YOU'VE CONVINCED ME HERE SO I
WILL BE SUPPORTING HERE ON NOW
THANK YOU SO MUCH YOUR
APPOINTMENT THANK YOU SENATOR
MONEY THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR AND-
NINETY ONE AD MY
CONGRATULATIONS AND PERHAPS
MORE IMPORTANTLY OUR
APPRECIATION FOR YOUR SERVICE
TO CALIFORNIA. I ENJOYED IT
CONVERT XIN I THINK IT MIGHT BE
OF INTEREST TO OTHER MEMBERS OF
THE PANEL I HAD A QUESTION
ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS OF
ASSEMBLY BILL FIVE IN NEW
INTERPRETATIONS ARE IN FOR SOME
OF EMPLOYEES- PURSES
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR YOU
SHARED SOME INSIGHT ABOUT IT'S
NOT APPARENTLY COMING. TO YOUR
BOARD YET BUT YOU HAD SOME
SURVEY THAT I THAT'S VERY
INTERESTING BONE AFFECT WORKERS
COMP AND UNTIL JULY FOR AND WE
DON'T KNOW WHAT. X. SAID I
THINK IT'S AN TO MY THAT OUR
WORKERS AND LAW THERE IS ALL A
PRE ALREADY IN PLAY THAT ANY
WHO PER SERVICE FOR HE'S
EMPLOYEE THAT IS A PRESUMPTION
EVERYBODY PRESUMPTION SO THIS
OWN I DON'T THINK THIS WILL BE
A SEA CHANGE FOR WORKERS
COMPENSATION THANK YOU IN AS
YOU POINTED OUT. IS WELL THE
BAND OF. COMP IS A PHONE SYSTEM
AND IT'S A MECHANISM PROVIDE.
MEDICAL SO FOR NAY. WORKER
ASSUMING IT WAS RELATED TO WORK
AND SOMETIMES THAT'S THE PROOF
I UNDERSTAND. JUST A FINAL
QUESTION YOU SHARE JUST SOME OF
THE BROAD NUMBERS OF. CASES AND
THEN PERCENT THAT GO TO
APPELLATE REVIEW IN KIND OF A
ROUGH IDEA OF THE CASELOAD IN
IN YOUR- CO WORKERS. GRAPPLE
WITH I THINK THAT WOULD BE OF
INTEREST TO THE PANEL AS WELL.
THANK YOU SENATOR FOR THE
QUESTION YES THE SENATE IT
DURING MY NEED WITH THIS STAFF
I WAS ASKED TO PROVIDE SOME
ADDITIONAL DATA SO I ALSO
LEARNED SOME OF THIS
INFORMATION. DID OVER THE LAST
THREE YEARS THERE ARE ROUGHLY.
A HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THOUSAND.
OR SO APPLICATIONS THAT'S LIKE
A CIVIL COMPLAINT WERE YOU FILE
AN INITIATE A CASE IN THE
WORKERS COMP SYSTEM. ON AVERAGE
WE ARE NOW SEE AT THE WORK COMP
IT BOARD. TWO THOUSAND OR DOWN
TO SEVENTEEN HUNDRED APPEALS A
YEAR OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
THE WORK AT THE BOARD IS VERY
LABOR INTENSIVE BECAUSE MOST
CASES REQUIRE US TO GO THROUGH
A RECORD AND. THERE ARE OFTEN
MANY EXHIBITS SO IT'S DETAILED
AND IT'S IMPORTANT WE ALL AND
TRY TO GIVE. THE UTMOST
ATTENTION TO EACH CASE. GREAT
THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR HAVE NO
FURTHER QUESTIONS AGAIN-
CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU
FOR YOUR SERVICE THANK YOU VERY
MUCH SENATOR THANK YOU LET ME
ADD MY CONGRATULATIONS AND-
WITH THAT I'M GOING TO GO TO
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO ARE
HERE IN SUPPORT. OF THE
APPOINTMENT PLEASE COME FORWARD
AND GIVE ME YOUR NAME WHAT HAD
YOU MIGHT WEAR WHO YOU
REPRESENT AND BRIEF COMMENTS
EARLY MADAM PRO TEM COMMITTEE
COMMITTEE MEMBERS THANK YOU FOR
THE OPPORTUNITY SPEAK MY NAME
IS JASON MARCUS. I'M HERE AND
HALF OF THE- ALKAN'S ATTORNEYS
ASSOCIATION GROUP OF LAWYERS
SUCH AS MYSELF THAT REPRESENT
INJURED WORKERS IN THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA. I'M HERE TODAY TO
OFFER SUPPORT FOR COMMISSIONER
SWEENEY AND RESPECTFULLY
REQUEST THAT YOU CONFIRM HER
APPOINTMENT TO THE WORKERS
COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARD. AS
YOU HEARD HER SAY COMMISSIONER
SWEENEY ANSWER FOR A TERM
ALREADY ON THAT COMPENSATION
APPEALS BOARD- SINCE TWO
THOUSAND TWELVE WHEN SHE WAS
APPOINTED BY GOVERNOR BROWN
SHE'S HIGHLY RESPECT IN THE
COMMUNITY BY BOTH EMPLOYER AND
LABOR GROUPS THAT IS BOTH
SIDES. AND THE WORKERS
COMPENSATION SYSTEM- AND I ALL
KNOW THAT SHE'S EAGER TO SERVE
ANOTHER TERM- I PERSONALLY HAD
THE PLEASURE OF KNOWING
MARGUERITE FOREIGN THIRTY YEARS
I CONSIDER HER COLLEAGUE A
MENTOR AND A PERSONAL FRIEND-
SHE'S PASSIONATE SHE IS VERY
BRIGHT HE'S VERY FUNNY. MORE
THAN ANYTHING SHE'S DEDICATED
TO DOING HER JOB AND DOING SO
WITH INTEGRITY. AS WORKERS
COMPENSATION PRACTITIONER
MYSELF I HAVE RECEIVED A WHOLE
NUMBER OF DECISIONS FROM THE
WORKERS COMPENSATION APPEALS
BOARD INCLUDING DECISIONS WERE
COMMISSIONER SWEENEY HAS BEEN
ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS. SOME
OF THOSE HAVE BEEN FAVORABLE TO
MY CLIENTS SOME LESS SO- AND
WHY MAY NOT ALWAYS LIKE THE
OUTCOME IN A GIVEN CASE I CAN
SAY WITHOUT EXCEPTION THAT HER
DECISIONS ARE ALWAYS THOUGHTFUL
AND ALWAYS WILL REASON. SHE
STRIVES TO REACH THE CORRECT
RESULT BASED ON THE FACTS OF
THE CASE AND THE APPLICABLE LAW
AND I THINK THAT'S PRECISELY
WHAT WE NEED FROM A
COMMISSIONER ON THE WORKERS
COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARD.
THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND
AGAIN I URGE YOU. TO CONFIRM
HER APPOINTMENT. THANK YOU FOR
YOUR CA. HI WELCOME TO ATTEND
MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE DOWN
BEHALF OF CAL PROFESSIONAL
FIREFIGHTERS A PLEASED TO BE
HERE IN SUPPORT A COMMISSIONER
SWEENEY AND ALSO TO RECORD YOUR
CONFIRMATION HER POSITION ON
THE WORKERS COMP APPEALS BOARD.
WE DON'T HEAR FROM OUR MEMBERS
A LOT ON RULES COMMITTEE
APPOINTMENTS BUT IN THIS CASE
THERE WAS SOME GRASSROOTS
INTEREST ALSO IN SEEING THE
SWEENEY CONFIRMED AND I THINK
THAT'S BECAUSE SHE'S AS OUR
PREVIOUS SPEAKER SAID SHE'S
VERY FAIR MINDED BUT SHE HAS A
HEART FOR INJURED WORKERS WHICH
WE APPRECIATE SO WE URGE YOU.
TO CONFIRM HER. THANK YOU.
EGGMAN PRETEND AFTERNOON
SENATORS ALBERTO TRICK ON
BEHALF UNITED FOR AND WORKERS
WESTERNS COMES. AND THE STATE
PER UNITS SOME A ON THE
OFFICIAL GIVES ME. COULD BE
HERE TODAY ON BEHALF OF THE
TEAM. ALL INTO OF THE- OF FROM
COMMISSION SWEENEY. AS MY
COLLEAGUE EARLIER. WORKERS COMP
AND SHOULD ONLY. MIGHT THINK
IT'S- DOESN'T WE DON'T THINK
ABOUT AND EVERY DAY BY BUT THE
PEOPLE TO DO THINK ABOUT. THE
WORKERS AND IT'S A HAVING A OF
THE BOARD OF THE C. A. B. THE
THIS FULLY STAFFED WITH ALL ITS
MEMBER. WITH MEMBERS ARE. TO
EXT THIS MAKING IS. POOR ENOUGH
IN A FAIR. AND UNBIASED AND I
THINK MISTER SWEENEY EXAMPLE
THAT. SENATOR ROTH THANK YOU.
MAN SECRETARY SENATORS BATES HI
BATES AYE MONNING MONNING AYE
ROTH ROTH AYE WILK ATKINS HI
THAT CAN SIGN CONGRATULATIONS
LET ME ASSURE YOUR COLLEAGUES
WHO TRAVELED ALL THE WAY FROM
SAN FRANCISCO IT THIS IS A
COMPLIMENT SHORT HEARINGS ARE A
GOOD THING AS YOU KNOW I AND
ACCEPT OUR CONGRATULATIONS AND
THANKS. VERY MUCH AND.
COLLEAGUES WE ARE ADJOURNED.