After serving months as acting Administrative Director (AD) of the California Division of Workers’ Compensation (CA DWC), Nicole Richardson is now officially in charge of the regulatory agency.

Governor Gavin Newsom’s office announced Richardson’s appointment as AD in late August, subject to state Senate confirmation. Having interacted with Richardson on multiple occasions, daisyNews can attest to her intelligence, expertise, and entirely non-partisan dedication to using her office for the betterment of the system.

Richardson faces the daunting task of righting a regulatory ship that, as we have written about extensively, has veered far off course.

The previous AD, George Parisotto, quietly retired in January of this year after a decade-long tenure. Under his stewardship, the agency failed to uphold (and follow) state law and the agency’s own regulations, and arguably incentivized payer non-compliance by refusing to impose consequences for even the most blatant, long-standing patterns of abuses.

As she demonstrated in a recent meeting with California’s Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation (CHSWC), Richardson commands a deep understanding of the system and a clear vision of the agency’s role.

Cleaning up the mess she now inherits will not be an easy or quick process for Richardson. We congratulate the new AD on her appointment, and stand ready to offer our own extensive data and expertise in support of her efforts to bring meaningful change to a dysfunctional agency.