California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi issued a workers' compensation reform plan aimed at reducing lawsuits and provide injured employees with benefits more swiftly. California legislators are already discussing possible reforms for the system, which has prompted many businesses to leave the state as costs have skyrocketed out of control and many private workers' comp insurers have fled the state.

Garamendi's plan calls for felony charges against employers without workers' comp insurance, immediate payment of benefits to injured workers, a longer dispute period for employers--up to one year, and the use of an independent medical examiner to determine the extent of injuries. Moreover, the commissioner is seeking a simplified permanent disability rating system for injured employees, but it is unclear how much his plan would reduce legal costs for the overall workers' comp system. Governor Schwarzenegger has stated that lawmakers need to shave $11 billion from the current system before he will accept a reform package.