What the panel ordered
The WCAB grants the petition for reconsideration, rescinds the Findings and Order issued on March 26, 2024, and returns the matter to the WCJ for further proceedings consistent with the decision.
Applicant seeks reconsideration or alternatively removal of the Findings and Order issued by the WCJ on March 26, 2024, which found the WCAB no longer had jurisdiction to address applicant's September 30, 2021 petition to re-open and re-activate the claim.
What was disputed, and how it came out
Each issue the panel decided, with the reasoning it gave. An outcome is what this panel did on this record — not a rule, and not a prediction.
The WCAB found that the petition to re-open was essentially a petition to set aside the order of dismissal and that the WCAB retains jurisdiction to reconsider and allow further proceedings, favoring adjudication on the merits and due process rights.
From the decision · page 1Applicant seeks reconsideration or alternatively removal of the Findings and Order (F&O), issued by the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) on March 26, 2024, wherein the WCJ found in pertinent part that based on the April 19, 2021 order of dismissal, the WCAB no longer has jurisdiction to address applicant's September 30, 2021 "Petition to Re-Open and Re- Activate Applicant's Worker's Compensation Claim."
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
Applicant filed a petition to re-open and re-activate the claim within six months of the dismissal order, which should have been treated as a petition to set aside the dismissal.
Favours Applicant prevailed
This fact supported the WCAB's decision to grant reconsideration and allow further proceedings on the merits.
From the decision · page 613; Beaida, supra, at 208-210). Here, although applicant's September 30, 2021 petition to re-open and re-activate his worker's compensation claim was poorly captioned, applicant essentially appears to have been seeking to set-aside the order of dismissal issued by the WCJ less than six months earlier, on April 19, 2021. Based on the record before us, when applicant filed the September 30, 2021 petition, the WCJ should have treated it as a petition to set-aside the order of dismissal and provided applicant the opportunity present evidence. All parties to a workers' compensation proceeding retain the fundamental right to due process and a fair hearing under both the California and United States Constitutions.
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Labor Code section 5803
The appeals board has continuing jurisdiction over all its orders, decisions, and awards and may rescind, alter, or amend any order, decision, or award for good cause.
The WCAB applied this to grant reconsideration and rescind the dismissal order.
From the decision · page 4[Division 4]... At any time, upon notice and after the opportunity to be heard is given to the parties in interest, the appeals board may rescind, alter, or amend any order. decision, or award, good cause appearing therefor." (Lab. Code, § 5803.)
Code of Civil Procedure section 473(b)
The protections of Code of Civil Procedure section 473(b) apply in workers' compensation proceedings to relieve parties from judgments or orders due to mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
The WCAB applied this to support relief from dismissal and allow reconsideration.
From the decision · page 4These principles of liberal pleading are further reflected in section 5506, which authorizes the Appeals Board to relieve a defendant from default or dismissal due to mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect in accordance with Code of Civil Procedure section 473. Section 473 of the Code of Civil Procedure permits the trial court to relieve a party from a judgment, order or other proceeding taken against him through his mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect. Code of Civil Procedure section 473(b) provides, in relevant part:
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
Applicant's petition to re-open was poorly captioned but should be treated as a petition to set aside the dismissal order, allowing opportunity to present evidence.
From the decision · page 613; Beaida, supra, at 208-210). Here, although applicant's September 30, 2021 petition to re-open and re-activate his worker's compensation claim was poorly captioned, applicant essentially appears to have been seeking to set-aside the order of dismissal issued by the WCJ less than six months earlier, on April 19, 2021. Based on the record before us, when applicant filed the September 30, 2021 petition, the WCJ should have treated it as a petition to set-aside the order of dismissal and provided applicant the opportunity present evidence. All parties to a workers' compensation proceeding retain the fundamental right to due process and a fair hearing under both the California and United States Constitutions.
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About this page
- A published decision of the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, taken apart by what it turned on. The Board publishes the decision itself; this page adds the extraction and quotes the passage behind every claim.
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