Under existing law, California’s workers’ compensation system requires employers, usually through insurance, to provide medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, and hospital treatment reasonably required to treat injuries or illnesses an employee incurs in the course of their employment.
Senate Bill 1002 (SB 1002) expands the meaning of medical treatment for workers’ compensation purposes to include services provided by a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). As such, SB 1002 authorizes employers to include LCSW services in the treatments for employee workplace injuries or illnesses and authorizes employers to provide employees with access to an LCSW acting within the scope of their practice.
SB 1002 also authorizes medical provider networks to add LCSWs to a physician provider listing. However, SB 1002 only authorizes an LCSW to treat or evaluate an injured worker upon referral from a physician and prohibits an LCSW from making a determination of whether an employee is disabled.
(SB 1002 amends Sections 3209.5, 4600, 4600.3, and 4616 of, and adds Section 3209.11 to, the Labor Code.)