What the panel ordered
Reconsideration granted; WCJ's order of dismissal rescinded; matter returned for further proceedings and decision after hearing.
Applicant sought removal after the WCJ issued an order dismissing defendant Republic Indemnity Co on March 23, 2023. The WCAB treated the petition as one for reconsideration and reviewed the record.
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 WCJ dismissed Republic Indemnity without a record of testimony or evidence documenting the basis for the order, depriving parties of due process and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. The Appeals Board found no evidence upon which to base a decision and ordered a hearing to allow both parties to present evidence.
From the decision · page 2(1970) 1 Cal.3d 627 [35 Cal.Comp.Cases 16].) As required by section 5313 and explained in Hamilton, "the WCJ is charged with the responsibility of referring to the evidence in the opinion on decision, and of clearly designating the evidence that forms the basis of the decision." (Hamilton, supra, at p. 475.) The WCJ's opinion on decision "enables the parties, and the Board if reconsideration is sought, to ascertain the basis for the decision, and makes the right of seeking reconsideration more meaningful." (Hamilton, supra, at pp. 475§ 476, citing Evans v. Workmen's Comp. Appeals Bd. (1968) 68 Cal.2d 753, 755 [33 Cal.Comp.Cases 350, 351].) Here, the only record provided is the WCJ's note "Dismissal of Republic Indemnity" in the minutes of hearing from the March 22. 2023 status conference. Because there is no record of testimony or evidence documenting the basis of the WCJ's Order, there is no evidence upon which we can base a decision. A record supporting any finding must still be established and petitioner