What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration granted; Findings and Award and Order of November 8, 2024 affirmed except that the issue of defendant's credit for temporary disability overpayments is deferred.
Defendant sought reconsideration of the Findings and Award and Order issued on November 8, 2024, challenging the permanent disability rate calculation; the WCJ recommended denial of reconsideration; the Appeals Board granted reconsideration and issued a decision on February 4, 2025.
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 Appeals Board found the WCJ's decision to allow credit for TD overpayments was not supported by substantial evidence and lacked adequate explanation, so the issue was deferred for further consideration.
From the decision · page 7In short, the Opinion on Decision simply does not allow us to adequately determine the basis for the WCJ's decision to allow the Labor Code section 4909 credit. Accordingly, we will amend the F&A to defer this issue. In all other respects, the F&A is affirmed.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
Applicant was injured on December 21, 2021, while employed as a housekeeper.
Favours Applicant prevailed
Established the basis for permanent disability and related benefits.
From the decision · page 1Applicant filed an Application for Adjudication, alleging a specific injury to multiple body parts sustained on December 21, 2021 while employed by defendant as a housekeeper. The parties
No evidence applicant would not have completed the seasonal employment period absent injury; defendant's speculation rejected.
Favours Applicant prevailed
Supported the decision to use the full seasonal period for calculating the permanent disability rate rather than a reduced period.
Favours Applicant prevailed
Undermined the basis for the credit for temporary disability overpayments, leading to deferral of the issue.
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Labor Code section 5909
The Appeals Board must act on a petition for reconsideration within 60 days of transmission of the case to the Appeals Board.
The Board timely acted on the petition within the 60-day period.
From the decision · page 3Under Labor Code section 5909(a), the Appeals Board must act on a petition for reconsideration within 60 days of transmission of the case to the Appeals Board. Transmission is reflected in Events in the Electronic Adjudication Management System (EAMS). Specifically, in Case Events, under Event Description is the phrase "Sent to Recon" and under Additional Information is the phrase "The case is sent to the Recon board."
Labor Code sections 5906 and 5908
The Appeals Board may affirm, rescind, alter, or amend the order, decision, or award upon reconsideration.
The Board reopened the entire record for review and reconsidered the issues including those not raised in the petition.
From the decision · page 4Initially, we note that following the grant of reconsideration, the Appeals Board has the authority to make new and different findings on issues presented for determination at the trial level, even with respect to issues not raised in the petition for reconsideration before it. As we observed in Pasquotto v. Hayward Lumber (2006) 71 Cal.Comp.Cases 223, fn. 7 [2006 Cal. Wrk. Comp. LEXIS 35, 51§ 17] (Appeals Board en banc), section 5906 provides that "[u]pon the filing of a petition for reconsideration... the appeals board may, with or without further proceedings and with or without notice affirm, rescind, alter, or amend the order, decision, or award made and filed by the appeals board or the workers' compensation judge...." (Lab. Code, § 5906.) Similarly, section 5908 provides that "[a]fter... a consideration of all the facts the appeals board may affirm, rescind, alter, or amend the original order, decision, or award." (Lab.
Labor Code section 4909; Herrera v. Workmen's Comp. Appeals Bd. (1969) 71 Cal.2d 254; Maples v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (1980) 111 Cal.App.3d 827
Allowance of credit for overpayment is discretionary and must be supported by substantial evidence and equitable considerations.
The Board found the WCJ's credit allowance lacked substantial evidence and adequate explanation, warranting deferral.
From the decision · page 5Under Labor Code section 4909, the Appeals Board is allowed to "take[] into account," (i.e., to allow a credit) for any payment, allowance, or benefit paid by the defendant to the injured employee when it was not then due and payable or when there was a dispute or question concerning the right to compensation. (Lab. Code, § 4909.) The Supreme Court has stated that the allowance of credit is within the Appeals Board's discretion. (Herrera v. Workmen's Comp. Appeals Bd. (1969) 71 Cal.2d 254, 258 [34 Cal.Comp.Cases 382].) An Appeals Board panel stated that "[w]hether a credit is to be allowed is a matter directed to the discretionary authority of the trier of fact to be weighed in the light of the circumstances of the particular case and should not be subjected to a harsh dictate that avoids the equities presented." (Cordes v. General Dynamics- Astronautics (1966) 31 Cal.Comp.Cases 429 (Appeals Board panel decision).) Thus, the allowance of a credit is a matter of discretion and not a legal entitlement.
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
No evidence that applicant would not have remained employed through the season absent injury; defendant's speculation rejected.
The same issues, filtered across the whole corpus — or paste your own facts and let the search rank by factor match.
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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