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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger State Capitol Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Governor Schwarzenegger: I respectfully request that you VETO SB 1115 (Migden), which would undermine the workers’ compensation reforms that you signed into law in 2004. One of the fundamental reforms contained in SB 899 (Poochigian – 2004) was a reaffirmation of the concept of apportionment, which holds that an employer should only be liable for the amount of permanent disability that was caused by an industrial injury or illness that occurred in the course and scope of employment. Prior to SB 899 apportionment was virtually impossible for employers to obtain even when there was significant evidence to show that the injured worker had previous disability. SB 1115 will undermine a vital component of SB 899 that was intended to promote balance and equity in the workers’ compensation system. Apportionment is a long-standing concept that is intended to protect employers from being forced to pay for disability that is not directly caused by an industrial injury. In the years prior to SB 899 the concept of apportionment was weakened through a number of court interpretations. In many cases employers would provide direct evidence of a prior industrial injury, such as settlement documents, and apportionment would still not be awarded by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. When the workers’ compensation system was reformed, changes to the apportionment laws in California were considered to fundamentally be an issue of fairness. Employers were being forced to pay for disability that was not the result of an industrial injury at their place of employment. SB 899 provided relief from this situation to employers and put the system back in balance. SB 1115 would not provide any greater protection to injured workers. Instead, SB 1115 will serve to muddy the waters on apportionment law and create an opening for applicant attorneys to challenge reasonable apportionment to preexisting conditions and disability. The reforms contained in SB 899 have been very effective in returning balance to the California workers’ compensation system and that they should be allowed to continue in place.

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