What the panel ordered
WCAB affirmed the WCJ's Findings & Order dated October 30, 2023, denying defendant's good faith personnel action defense and finding applicant sustained injury to psyche and nervous system arising out of employment
Petition for Reconsideration filed by defendant after WCJ Findings & Order; WCAB conducted de novo review and affirmed WCJ decision
This docket was decided more than once. Shown here is the latest released decision; we also hold February 5, 2024.
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 and WCAB found that defendant failed to meet its burden to prove the personnel actions (January 25, 2018 meeting and July 2, 2018 termination) were lawful, nondiscriminatory, and in good faith, based on credible applicant testimony and medical evidence from QME Dr. Sean Sassano-Higgins.
From the decision · page 17II. DISCUSSION ROLDA ANALYSIS The Applicant has filed a claim alleging continuous trauma injury to her psyche, and the defendant has raised the good faith personnel action defense per Labor Code 3208.3(h). Accordingly, the undersigned applied the multilevel analysis required by Rolda v. Pitney Bowes (en banc) 66 Cal. Comp. Cases 241 as follows: (1) Whether the alleged psychiatric injury involves actual events of employment, a factual/legal determination. As per the report from QME Dr. Sean Sassano-Higgins dated August 2, 2023, the applicant sustained psychiatric injury which was apportioned 30% to the root cause analysis meeting on January 25, 2018, and 30% to "unfair termination". (Defense Exhibit M). In the opinion of the undersigned, the meeting and the applicant's termination were actual events of employment. (2) If so, whether such actual events were the predominant cause of the psychiatric injury, a determination which requires medical evidence. In the opinion of the undersigned, the root cause analysis meeting and the applicant's termination were the predominant causes of the applicant's psychiatric injury, as per the report from QME Dr.