WCDefenseCA

Hey there readers! Did you miss me?

Well, not unlike Gandalf in The Two Towers, your humble blogger returns to you to be of humble service once more.  Now, you might ask, “HB [which is what the cool kids use to say humble blogger], where have you been these past few weeks?”  Well, I’ll tell you but it’s going to be a “choose your own adventure” sort of explanation, including any of the following scenarios:

1. Jail;
2. Conference circuit;
3. Defending the world against Killer Klowns from outer space;
4. Just really busy;
5. On a 6-week Caribbean cruise lecturing powerful CEOs about California Workers’ Compensation.

Whatever you choose, guess what? You’re absolutely and 100% right!

Anywho, today isn’t just any other day, but it’s actually Columbus day, or, in some cases, sometimes also referred to as Indigenous Peoples Day!  A lot of schools are closed today, and we might be juggling work and childcare since many offices remain open.  However, as my beloved and well-informed readers may recall from prior posts, Columbus Day is not a holiday for purposes of extending deadlines for filing. 

So, if you have anything due today, do NOT rely on it being Columbus Day to extend the deadline until tomorrow. 

If you have the day off, your humble blogger wishes you rest and  recuperation on this day off.  If you’re down in the trenches like your humble blogger, huzzah!

Until next time, dear readers…

Happy Monday, dear readers, and more to the point, happy New Year!

We made it, and here we are!  I know we all had some doubts.  But, I thought it only fair to bring to the attention of my beloved readers and my despised detractors alike that practically no one is making predictions about the future any more – no one is saying “2023 is going to be my year!” or “the year of the Humble Blogger is at last at hand!”  We’re all very cautiously moving forward with only one goal and aspiration in mind for 2023

What better way to start another wonderful year of blogging than by giving a heads up on the laws taking effect 1/1/23?

First off, a chronic favorite here at WCDefenseCA, minimum wage!  Starting 1/1/23, minimum wage goes up to $15.50 per hour for all employers, possibly more by local ordinance.  What does that mean for you?  If you’re paying TD for an employee who was earning minimum wage at the time of injury, that employee’s “earning capacity” has now increased by operation of the minimum wage law, which means you should be prepared to reassess TD rate.

Second, everyone’s favorite abomination of a law: SB1127 is now in effect for all dates of injury!  What does that mean? If you had 90 days to investigate a claim you might have 75 now depending on the nature of the injury alleged and the occupation claimed.  No one knows how this will play out as the law was so poorly drafted and reasoned out.  Furthermore, you might think yourself safe if you’re not employing peace officers or firefighters or corrections officers.  But what about COVID19 presumption cases such as outbreaks or healthcare workers?  Time to take a look carefully because if workers’ compensation were a ship, our location on the map would read “here be dragons!”

To quote Lorne Malvo in Fargo: “Because maps used to say ‘there be dragons here.’ Now they don’t.  But that don’t mean the dragons aren’t there.”  And, of course, if you’re looking at the costs of litigation SB1127 in uncharted territory with the prospect of $50,000 in penalties, a dragon to face is not an unreasonable analogy.

Other notables include AB-257, which allows the government to raise wages for food workers up to $22 per hour, and of course SB-1162, which requires employers with more than 15 employees to disclose wage ranges for a given position to prospective and current employees.

What does that mean for us, dear readers? It means that California employers are going to have an even harder time keeping the lights on.  Those of us who have not left the state are going to be very busy working to make sure the shifting of more and more of society’s burdens on employers is kept to a minimum.  Cheer up, dear readers – at least we won’t be bored!

Happy New Year!

Happy Wednesday, dear readers! As we are just on the cusp of another one of those major holidays, Thanksgiving to be precise, your humble blogger thought it might be useful to answer that question rooted deep, deep in your heart.

Can you, in good faith, enjoy Thanksgiving tomorrow, if there are deadlines to be met?  Can you live out your Fight Club fantasies during the Black Friday store rush when you might have to file something that day?

Time for another holiday post! 

Thanksgiving is a day that that we take to celebrate all that is good in life.  Often enough, we lose sight of the fact that there is a whole lot to be thankful for.  Thanksgiving is one of those days that we are reminded of it. 

So, is Thanksgiving a “holiday” in the sense that all legal deadlines are extended to the next business day?  Or is it a “holiday” in the same sense that your humble blogger’s birthday is a holiday… a day which is great but no one seems to acknowledge as pretty awesome?

Well, Government code 6700(a)(16)(A) seems to hold Thanksgiving as a holiday.  Government Code 19853(a) not only holds Thanksgiving as a holiday, but the day after Thanksgiving as a holiday as well.  The California Supreme Court likewise acknowledges both Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving as holidays, as does California Code of Civil Procedure section 135.

How does the WCAB approach this?  Well, in Pa’u v. Department of Forestry, a significant panel decision from 2018, the WCAB relied on the list of “Holidays” in Government Code 6700 to conclude that the day after Thanksgiving is a “working day.”

To your humble blogger’s mind at least, Thanksgiving should be treated as a holiday which extends the deadlines for filing and panel requests by one day.  The day after Thanksgiving, however, should not, and if your deadline fell on Thanksgiving or the day after, you should probably take action by that day to avoid the likely consequences.

Your humble blogger wishes you a safe and health Thanksgiving dear readers, full of joy, reflection, and hearty feasting!

Happy Veterans Day, dear readers!

In case you’re working today and wondering whether today counts as a “holiday” for deadline purposes, it certainly is under California Government Code 6700(a)(13). 

Aside from trying to decide whether you have to get that petition out today, perhaps you might have a moment or two to reflect on the nature of the holiday itself.  Veterans Day is a holiday to honor the veterans of the United States.

Many veterans serve their country honorably and return to civilian life to pursue gainful non-military careers or stay in the military to pursue military ones.  Many, many, veterans however return with injuries that preclude such pursuits.

Some are physical and easily seen, and some, like PTSD, are invisible other than their destructive effects on the veterans and their families, friends, and communities.

If you can, please consider making a donation to Operation Surf, an organization dedicated to helping injured veterans find healing from their injuries.  

Your humble blogger looks forward to seeing you back here, dear readers, come Monday next.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Monday dear readers!

Of course, it’s not just Monday, is it?  In fact, it’s Columbus Day in many parts of the country.  However, if we were to look at the Rules of Court holidays, Columbus day is noticeably absent.  Of course, comparing the Court Holidays to years prior, Columbus day was a holiday as late as 2021.

By contrast, California Government Code 6700, lists Columbus Day as a holiday.  Columbus Day was

Typically, whenever any deadline falls on a “holiday” that deadline is extended to the next non-holiday, non-Saturday, non-Sunday.  But what about Columbus day?

Less than a year ago, your humble blogger brought you the panel decision in Vanlandingham v. American Services & Products, Inc., which ruled that since the WCAB was open for filing on Columbus day, the deadline to file was not extended by one day. 

So, what’s the answer, dear readers?  Should Columbus Day extend filing deadlines until Tuesday?  As discussed in this prior blog post, the answer is no.  Government Code section 19853 does not list Columbus Day as one of those holidays where state employees are off work.  Accordingly, if you have anything due today, I suggest you roll up your proverbial sleeves and start working away, as 5pm will be here before you know it and your deadline will be blown!

For those of my beloved readers lucky enough to enjoy today as a day off from work, I urge you to enjoy the wonderful weather and the time spent away from our beloved swamp of workers’ compensation. 

Every lien claimant knowingly providing treatment UR denied, every applicant attorney demanding sanctions because there were only 50 tissues in his client’s tissue box instead of 52, and every shameless defense attorney such as your humble blogger pestering you for authority to take the SJDB Voucher dispute all the way to the California Supreme Court will be waiting for you come Tuesday.  You may as well enjoy the sort-of holiday of Columbus Day while you still can.

Until the next time, dear readers!

Hey there readers! Happy Labor Day to you from the humblest of the humble bloggers! Hopefully you are enjoying a well deserved respite from your labors today.

Of course, if you’re wondering, Labor Code section 6700(a)(9) recognizes today as a holiday. In other words, if today is the last day to take any action, the deadline is extended another day. So… there’s that!

Cheers!

We made it dear readers! Another holiday and another day off from our noble and proud pursuits of delivering justice and avoiding the miscarriage of the same. We few, we happy few, we band of workers’ compensation defenders.

So, enjoy the BBQ, have fun with your family, and please, please, please – enough with the fireworks!

Now, in case you’re wondering, today absolutely is a holiday, dear readers, so if there is a deadline to do something today, it is extended one more day until tomorrow, Tuesday, July 5, 2022. Don’t believe me? Well whether you consult the California Rules of Court or Government Code 6700, the result is the same.

In other words, celebrate living in one greatest countries in the world!

Until Wednesday, dear readers!

Happy Monday, dear readers!

And, more to the point, happy Memorial Day 2022.  As we all know, memorial day is a national holiday to commemorate and honor those veterans that lost their lives in the service of their country.  See past, if you will, dear readers, the auto sales and shopping advertisements.  Look instead to the cub scouts planting small American flags at national cemeteries and the families of the lost coming to honor their graves. 

Please remember also, dear readers, that today is not the day to thank veterans or congratulate them with memorial day – unlike Veterans’ day, today is specifically to honor the lost and deceased.

Now, if your mind turns unwittingly back towards workers’ comp, allow your humble blogger to also remind you that both under California Government Code 6700(a)(7) and under the California Rules of Court today counts as a holiday and any deadlines to take any action on this day is extended to the next business day, or Tuesday, May 31, 2022.

In any case, dear readers, your humble blogger hopes you have a meaningful and reflective Memorial Day and will be there to pollute your in-box and frustrate your positive outlook on the world on Wednesday with another blog post!  

Happy Monday, dear readers, and happy Presidents’ Day!

What originally started out as a day to honor the birthday of the American Cincinnatus eventually evolved into Presidents’ day.  In California, Presidents’ Day is a holiday according to the Rules of Court as well as Government Code 6700, which, for some reason, doesn’t refer to it as “Presidents’ Day” or even “George Washington’s Birthday” but only as “The third Monday in February.”

I imagine that one day children will ask their parents why the third Monday of February is such a special day, to which parents will answer “no one knows, sweetie, it’s a mystery lost to time…”

Anywho, any deadlines that would fall on today are extended to Tuesday, February 22, 2022.  Your humble blogger hopes that today is a day of rest for his beloved readers, and that instead of catching up on work, you are afforded an opportunity to celebrate, spend time with friends and family, and reflect on the rich heritage and history of the United States and the public-spirited nobility of its first President.

Till Wednesday, dear readers!

Happy Thanksgiving dear readers!

I would be the first to admit that times are tough – for many, many Americans times have been tougher recently than they have been in a while.  But even in the face of the difficulties that are mounted before us, I would respectfully submit to you, dear readers, that we still have very much to be grateful for. 

In the words of everyone’s favorite Lannister: “Death is so terribly final, while life is full of possibilities.”

As is often enough the case, there appears to be a conflict between the California Rules of Court and California Government Code 6700, regarding the days to be considered holidays.  While the California Supreme Court regards both Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 25, 2021) and the day after Thanksgiving (Friday, November 26, 2021) to be holidays upon which “The California courts will be closed”, Government Code 6700 only lists Thanksgiving itself as a holiday.

So, to play it safe, you may want to file any necessary paperwork on Friday November 26, 2021, rather than trusting that the deadline that otherwise falls on that day shall be extended to the following Monday (November 29, 2021).

In any case, dear readers, happy Thanksgiving and, if you plan to take your life in your hands by shopping tomorrow, may the odds be ever in your favor.