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The California workers’ compensation reform bill signed into law Feb. 15 by Gov. Gray Davis makes significant strides toward improving the safety of the state’s workers, according to the Alliance of American Insurers. “The safety reforms in AB 749 yield more worker safety using the same resources as the old program. These gains come from replacing… an out-of-date ‘command and control’ model with a program that focuses oversight only on problems,” Keith Lessner, vice president of safety and environment for the AAI and a primary crafter of the law’s safety provisions, commented. The programs are particularly aimed at certain groups of employers, such as those in hazardous industries with significant injuries, young workers or non-English speaking employees.