Happy Monday dear readers!
Did we all survive the storm ok? Everywhere your humble blogger looks, there are trees knocked over, so hopefully everyone is safe!
Well, aside from the other storm getting ready to pound the Bay Area, there’s a smaller storm a brewin’ in our beloved swamp of Workers’ Compensation. The WCAB has issued an En Banc opinion rescinding several emergency procedures put in place in light of the COVID19 state of emergency in California.
The opinion issued March 22, 2023, so presumably it is effective as of that date, and all C&R’s executed previously are still safe. But, going forward, any C&Rs to be submitted to the WCAB and executed on or after March 22, 2023, will have to have witness signatures.
Specifically, the WCAB rescinded emergency Orders Misc No. 260, 261, and 266. What are they?
Misc. No. 260 suspended Rule 10500(b)(6) requiring witness signatures on compromise and release documents.
Misc. No. 261 suspended Rule 10940(b) requiring e-filing (rather than e-mailing certain documents directly to the Workers’ Compensation Judge.
Misc. No. 266 suspended Rule 10789(c) which established walkthrough hours (8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
In light of this new En Banc Order, when preparing a C&R, we now need to ensure we secure witness signatures; documents must again be properly e-filed; and walkthroughs, which are already in person, may be conducted during the previously established hours.
Your humble blogger sincerely hopes this is not a sign that Mandatory Settlement Conference and Status Conferences will return to in-person, as the current system of remote hearings appears to be very effective, conserving resources for the parties and expediting resolution of disputes.
For the past three years, there have been many calls urging us to return to “normal.” However, in your humble blogger’s even humbler opinion, through the measures necessitated by COVID19, we have discovered some procedures that are better than what used to be “normal.” Let our urge to escape the horrific effects of the COVID19 epidemic not cause us to dismiss the lemonade we have produced from the lemons we’ve been given.
Onward and upward, dear readers!