Work & Health Initiative

Contact
Juliann Sum
Coordinator of Public Programs
Work & Health Initiative
jsum@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-7305

 

Mission

To improve the health and wellbeing of California workers and their families through the following activities:

1. Conducting applied practical research into the causes, prevention, and management of work-related health problems.


2. Disseminating findings, policy recommendations, and educational messages into the community.


3. Assisting organizations in developing effective programs to improve worker health.

Organizational Links

The Work & Health Initiative is sponsored by the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health in northern California. COEH, which is based at the Berkeley, San Francisco, and Davis campuses of the University of California, conducts research, multi-disciplinary graduate-level training, professional continuing education, and community service, including training workshops, conferences, educational materials, clinical services, and assistance with specific problems. The Work & Health Initiative works in close collaboration with the Labor Occupational Health Program, a community outreach program of COEH.

Projects

1. Workers' Compensation in California: A Guidebook for Injured Workers (Third Edition), November 2006, and Compensación del Trabajador de California: Una Guía para los Trabajadores Lesionados (Tercera Edición), Noviembre de 2006. This guidebook for injured workers, available in both English and Spanish, gives an overview of rights, responsibilities, and procedures in the California workers' compensation system. The guidebook was developed in collaboration with state agencies and workers' compensation stakeholders.



2. How To Create a Workers' Compensation Carve-Out in California: Practical Advice for Unions and Employers, 2006. This booklet discusses important issues for unions and employers to consider in designing a carve-out as an alternative system for delivering
   benefits to injured workers and resolving problems and disputes. Topics include reasons to create a carve-out, eligibility requirements, identifying problems and goals, designing the carve-out to meet your goals, hiring the best people, and staying involved in the operation of the carve-out.



3. Navigator Program for Labor Unions and Community Organizations. This educational project offers training workshops to help build capacity within labor unions, central labor councils, and community organizations throughout California to help injured workers in exercising their legal rights and obtaining basic medical care and other assistance. This project is a collaborative effort of LOHP and IRLE.



4. "Legal Services Available to Injured Workers in California," February 2002 (pdf ). This qualitative social research project describes and documents some of the gaps in legal services available to injured workers. Data were collected through interviews with persons throughout California representing labor organizations, legal aid organizations, and a UC law school clinical program.



5. "Return-to-Work in California: Listening to Stakeholders' Voices," July 2001. This qualitative social research project examines experiences and insights about medical practices, employer policies, and workers' compensation claims programs that can help injured workers return to long-term, sustained employment. Data were collected through focus groups of injured workers, insurance claims administrators, labor union representatives, management representatives, and health care providers.