On March 9, 2022, the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) announced that in-person hearings will resume starting March 21, 2022, at almost all of the DWC district offices. The only exceptions are Eureka, which is now a completely virtual office, and satellite locations Bishop, Marysville, Chico and Ukiah, which also will remain virtual.
SPECIAL REPORT
Effective Jan. 1, 2022, the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) amended its Rule of Practice and Procedure to allow for remote hearings, electronic filings, and electronic service. The changes made permanent many of the temporary changes implemented by the WCAB.
On June 1, 2021, the 6th Appellate District Court of Appeal certified for publication its decision in Applied Materials et al. v. WCAB.
In that case, the 6th District Court of Appeal issued a lengthy 73-page decision addressing multiple issues raised by the parties. However, the decision is most significant for two issues:
Because of the backlog of medical-legal evaluations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) adopted emergency regulations for medical-legal evaluations and reporting. The regulations became effective May 14, 2020, and originally were set to expire March 12, 2021. But they have been extended until Oct. 12, 2021.[1]
Part 22: COVID-19 Update –
Vaccines: Employer Mandates and Compensability
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the WCAB district offices have stopped conducting in-person trials since March 16, 2020. Beginning May 4, 2020, the WCAB began hearing trials on the cases-in-chief via individually assigned judges’ conference lines.
Since March 2020, to protect the health and safety of staff and the community, the Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) closed the district offices for in-person filing. The DWC has only allowed documents to be filed via EAMS, JET file or by mail.
