CA SB 536
in committeeWorkers' compensation insurance fraud reporting.
California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · upper
Description
Existing law makes it a misdemeanor or a felony to engage in specified acts of fraud or material misrepresentation for the purpose of obtaining or denying workers' compensation, as specified. Existing law, the Workers' Compensation Insurance Fraud Reporting Act (the act) , requires insurers and licensed rating organizations to release upon request to an authorized governmental agency, as defined, relevant information deemed important to the authorized governmental agency that the insurer or licensed rating organization may possess relating to any specific workers' compensation insurance fraud investigation. The act requires, under specified circumstances, an insurer or licensed rating organization to notify the local district attorney's office and the Fraud Division of the Department of Insurance, and requires that entity, unless specified circumstances exist, to notify any other authorized governmental agency of suspected fraud, as specified. The act also requires the Employment Development Department (EDD) to release, upon written request, to an authorized governmental agency relevant information that the EDD may possess relating to any specific workers' compensation insurance fraud investigation. The act requires, unless specified circumstances exist, an authorized governmental agency that is provided with information pursuant to those provisions to release or provide that information in a confidential manner to any other authorized governmental agency for purposes of investigation, prosecution, or prevention of insurance fraud or workers' compensation fraud. This bill would require an insurer or licensed rating organization to notify the EDD, in addition to the local district attorney's office and Fraud Division on the Department of Insurance, of suspected fraud when the fraudulent act relates to premium fraud. The bill would authorize an insurer to submit wage records and employee counts for an employer to the EDD and would require the EDD to identify discrepancies in the submitted information, as specified, and report any discrepancies back to the submitting insurer. Upon request by an insurer, the bill would require the EDD to release or provide detailed payroll information, including payroll summary totals, allowing the requester to compare the records with the information they are otherwise entitled to receive from employers in workers' compensation claims or pursuant to workers' compensation policies, unless doing so would violate federal law or compromise an ongoing investigation. The bill would require the EDD to only provide the information if specified requirements are met, and the requesting insurer to reimburse the department's actual, direct costs of releasing or providing this information. The bill would prohibit the provided documents from being used for specified purposes. Existing federal regulations generally prohibit the disclosure of confidential unemployment compensation information unless disclosure is on the basis of, among other things, informed consent to an agent of an employer. This bill would provide that by entering into a policy of workers' compensation insurance with an insurer, an employer in California consents and designates that insurer as the employer's agent to act for or in the place of the employer only with respect to a request for the above-described payroll information. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
- Introduced
- 2025-02-20
- Status date
- —
- Latest action
- 2026-06-24 — From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (June 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Subjects
Sponsors
- Archuletaauthor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
2025-02-20
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
introduction,reading-1,referral-committee
2025-02-21
From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 23.
2025-03-05
Referred to Com. on L., P.E. & R.
referral-committee
2025-04-04
Set for hearing April 23.
2025-04-29
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 870.) (April 23).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-04-30
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-05-02
Set for hearing May 12.
2025-05-12
May 12 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2025-05-16
Set for hearing May 23.
2025-05-23
From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 1203.) (May 23).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-05-23
Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2025-05-27
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-06-04
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 1505.) Ordered to the Assembly.
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-06-05
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
reading-1
2025-06-16
Referred to Com. on INS.
referral-committee
2026-05-18
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on INS.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-06-15
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on INS.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-06-24
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (June 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
Versions
Documents
Votes
Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-04-23 · pass · 5-0
Member-level votes (5)
- Cortese: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Laird: yes
- Strickland: yes
Placed on suspense file
2025-05-12 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Wahab: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Caballero: yes
Do pass as amended
2025-05-23 · pass · 6-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Caballero: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Dahle: other
3rd Reading
2025-06-04 · pass · 39-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Durazo: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Limón: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Hurtado: yes
- Grove: yes
- Niello: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Allen: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Jones: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Stern: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Alvarado-Gil: yes
- Laird: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Becker: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Choi: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Reyes: other
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2026-06-24 · pass · 17-0
Member-level votes (17)
- Gipson: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Addis: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Chen: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Berman: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Krell: yes
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z
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