DIR Director Sends Letter to WCAB

In yet another in a long string of firsts, the Director of the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) John Duncan has requested that the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) vacate the Almaraz and Ogilvie en banc decisions filed February 3, 2009.  Director Duncan does so “because, among other reasons, the announced rebuttal criteria discussed in Almaraz and Guzman are unclear and the lack of clarity is having far-reaching, system-wide effects.”  Although not explicitly instructing the WCAB to reverse its decisions, that is the strong implication of the letter.  To view the March 26, 2009 letter click here.

The California Applicant’s Attorneys Association (CAAA) has already voiced the concerns of its members.  "The letter from John Duncan, a political appointee of the governor, to the WCAB commissioners, who are also all (except one) appointees of the governor, smacks of an attempt to interfere with the judicial process by exerting improper political pressure on the board to change their unanimous decision interpreting the law,” said CAAA President Todd McFarren. 

Supporters of the Director’s actions are arguing that the letter is not without precedent in that the DIR has previously opposed the WCAB’s decisions before the Courts of Appeal.  Furthermore they argue the Almaraz and Ogilvie decisions constitute an unlawful attempt by the WCAB to usurp the powers of the legislative and executive branches of the state by unilaterally changing the PD evaluation system.

Meanwhile the entire California Workers’ Compensation community waits to see whether the Courts of Appeal will grant defendants’ writs.

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