TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to enter an agreement with the Long Beach Police Officers' Association and Long Beach Firefighters' Association, to continue the Workers’ Compensation Supplemental Dispute Resolution Program for a one-year period, and thereafter, continuing from year to year unless terminated by either party. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
In October 2007, the City Council approved a one-year pilot Workers' Compensation Supplemental Dispute Resolution Program with the Long Beach Firefighters Association (LBFFA) and the Long Beach Police Officers Association (LBPOA). Following City Council approval, City staff worked with the State of California, the LBFFA and the LBPOA to implement the Program. At that time, the City of Long Beach became the first public entity in the State of California to take advantage of the new provisions in SB899 allowing for the negotiation of "carve-out" programs in the Workers' Compensation system. The primary goal of the City's Supplemental Dispute Resolution (SDR) Program was to reduce delays inherent in the State's system when a medical dispute arose between the City and the employee. During the calendar year of 2008, a total of 55 Police and Fire claims participated in the City's SDR process. The City contracted with 56 physicians in various specialties to serve as Independent Medical Examiners (IME) for the Program.
An analysis of the one-year pilot program demonstrated that the City's SDR Program resulted in shortening the dispute process, reduced City costs and increased employee satisfaction with the handling of their Workers' Compensation claims. Under the State's dispute system, in which the employee had to see an Agreed Medical Examiner (AME) or a Qualified Medical Examiner (QME) to resolve a dispute, the time for resolution was, on average, 234 days for Police Officers and 215 days for Firefighters. Under the City's SDR Program, the time for resolution of the medical dispute was reduced to 59 days fo...
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