What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration dismissed as premature; matter returned to WCJ for further proceedings to consider the Petition as a petition to set aside the Stipulation.
Petition for Reconsideration filed by applicant seeking to set aside the Stipulation and Award approved by the WCJ on July 9, 2024, dismissed as premature and returned to the WCJ for further proceedings.
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 Petition was dismissed as premature because no evidentiary record was developed and the WCJ must consider the Petition as one to set aside the Stipulation with an opportunity for evidence and hearing.
From the decision · page 8Accordingly, we dismiss applicant's Petition as premature and return the matter to the WCJ for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Upon return of this matter to the trial level, we recommend that the WCJ treat the Petition as a petition to set aside and set a hearing so that applicant can provide evidence in support of his arguments and create a record upon which a decision can be made by the WCJ.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
No evidentiary record was developed to support the Petition to set aside the Stipulation.
Favours Defendant prevailed
Without an evidentiary record, the Board could not decide the Petition on its merits and returned the matter to the WCJ for further proceedings.
From the decision · page 7The Appeals Board's record of proceedings is maintained in the adjudication file and includes: the pleadings, minutes of hearing, summary of evidence, transcripts, if prepared and filed, proofs of service, evidence received in the course of a hearing, exhibits identified but not received in evidence, notices, petitions, briefs, findings, orders, decisions, and awards, and the arbitrator's file, if any. "Documents that are in the adjudication file but have not been received or offered in evidence are not part of the record of proceedings." (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10803.) Here, no evidence has been admitted to the record.
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Labor Code section 5909
Petition for reconsideration must be acted upon within 60 days of transmission to the Appeals Board.
The Board found the Petition was not timely acted upon but dismissed it as premature due to lack of evidentiary record.
From the decision · page 3Former Labor Code section1 5909 provided that a petition for reconsideration was deemed denied unless the Appeals Board acted on the petition within 60 days from the date of filing. (Lab. Code, § 5909.) Effective July 2, 2024, Section 5909 was amended to state in relevant part that:
Labor Code section 5702
The WCJ is not bound by parties' stipulations and may inquire further to determine the matter in controversy.
The Board returned the matter to the WCJ to consider the Petition as a petition to set aside the Stipulation with evidentiary hearing.
From the decision · page 5We note that while the parties may stipulate to the facts in controversy, the WCJ is not bound by the parties' stipulations and may make further inquiry into the matter "to enable it to determine the matter in controversy." (Lab. Code, § 5702; see also Weatherall, supra, at 1119; Turner Gas Co. v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (Kinney) (1975) 47 Cal.App.3d 286 [40 Cal.Comp.Cases 253].)
Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10700(b)
The WCAB shall inquire into the adequacy of all Compromise and Release agreements and Stipulations with Request for Award and may set the matter for hearing to take evidence when necessary.
The Board emphasized the need for evidentiary hearing to determine adequacy of the Stipulation.
From the decision · page 5Moreover, "[t]he Workers' Compensation Appeals Board shall inquire into the adequacy of all Compromise and Release agreements and Stipulations with Request for Award and may set the matter for hearing to take evidence when necessary to determine whether the agreement should be approved or disapproved, or issue findings and awards." (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10700(b).) This inquiry should carry out the legislative objective of safeguarding the injured worker from entering into unfortunate or improvident releases as a result of, for instance, economic pressure or lack of competent advice. (Claxton v. Waters (2004) 34 Cal.4th 367, 373 [69 Cal.Comp.Cases 895]; Sumner v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (1983) 33 Cal.3d 965, 972-973.) The worker's
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