2009 California Labor Code - Section 5500-5507 :: Chapter 3. Applications And Answers

5500.  No pleadings other than the application and answer shall be
required. Both shall be in writing and shall conform to forms
prescribed by the appeals board in its rules of practice and
procedure, simply but clearly and completely delineating all relevant
matters of agreement and all issues of disagreement within the
jurisdiction of the appeals board, and providing for the furnishing
of any additional information as the appeals board may properly
determine necessary to expedite its hearing and determination of the
claim.
   The amendment of this section made during the 1993 portion of the
1993-94 Regular Session shall apply to all applications filed on or
after January 1, 1994.
   Notwithstanding Section 5401, except where a claim form has been
filed for an injury occurring on or after January 1, 1990, and before
January 1, 1994, the filing of an application for adjudication and
not the filing of a claim form shall establish the jurisdiction of
the appeals board and shall commence proceedings before the appeals
board for the collection of benefits.

5500.3.  (a) The court administrator shall establish uniform
district office procedures, uniform forms, and uniform time of court
settings for all district offices of the appeals board. No district
office of the appeals board or workers' compensation administration
law judge shall require forms or procedures other than as established
by the court administrator. The court administrator shall take
reasonable steps to ensure enforcement of this section. A workers'
compensation administrative law judge who violates this section may
be subject to disciplinary proceedings.
   (b) The appeals board shall establish uniform court procedures and
uniform forms for all other proceedings of the appeals board. No
district office of the appeals board or workers' compensation
administrative law judge shall require forms or procedures other than
as established by the appeals board.

5500.5.  (a) Except as otherwise provided in Section 5500.6,
liability for occupational disease or cumulative injury claims filed
or asserted on or after January 1, 1978, shall be limited to those
employers who employed the employee during a period of four years
immediately preceding either the date of injury, as determined
pursuant to Section 5412, or the last date on which the employee was
employed in an occupation exposing him or her to the hazards of the
occupational disease or cumulative injury, whichever occurs first.
Commencing January 1, 1979, and thereafter on the first day of
January for each of the next two years, the liability period for
occupational disease or cumulative injury shall be decreased by one
year so that liability is limited in the following manner:

  For claims filed
  or                            The period
  asserted on or after:         shall be:
  January 1, 1979...........   three years
  January 1, 1980...........    two years
  January 1, 1981 and            one year
  thereafter................

   In the event that none of the employers during the above
referenced periods of occupational disease or cumulative injury are
insured for workers' compensation coverage or an approved alternative
thereof, liability shall be imposed upon the last year of employment
exposing the employee to the hazards of the occupational disease or
cumulative injury for which an employer is insured for workers'
compensation coverage or an approved alternative thereof.
   Any employer held liable for workers' compensation benefits as a
result of another employer's failure to secure the payment of
compensation as required by this division shall be entitled to
reimbursement from the employers who were unlawfully uninsured during
the last year of the employee's employment, and shall be subrogated
to the rights granted to the employee against the unlawfully
uninsured employers under the provisions of Article 1 (commencing
with Section 3700) of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 4.
   If, based upon all the evidence presented, the appeals board or
workers' compensation judge finds the existence of cumulative injury
or occupational disease, liability for the cumulative injury or
occupational disease shall not be apportioned to prior or subsequent
years; however, in determining the liability, evidence of disability
due to specific injury, disability due to nonindustrial causes, or
disability previously compensated for by way of a findings and award
or order approving compromise and release, or a voluntary payment of
disability, may be admissible for purposes of apportionment.
   (b) Where a claim for compensation benefits is made on account of
an occupational disease or cumulative injury which may have arisen
out of more than one employment, the application shall state the
names and addresses of all employers liable under subdivision (a),
the places of employment, and the approximate periods of employment
where the employee was exposed to the hazards of the occupational
disease or cumulative injury. If the application is not so prepared
or omits necessary and proper employers, any interested party, at or
prior to the first hearing, may request the appeals board to join as
defendant any necessary or proper party. If the request is made prior
to the first hearing on the application, the appeals board shall
forthwith join the employer as a party defendant and cause a copy of
the application together with a notice of the time and place of
hearing to be served upon the omitted employer; provided, the notice
can be given within the time specified in this division. If the
notice cannot be timely given or if the motion for joinder is made at
the time of the first hearing, then the appeals board or the workers'
compensation judge before whom the hearing is held, if it is found
that the omitted employer named is a necessary or proper party, may
order a joinder of the party and continue the hearing so that proper
notice may be given to the party or parties so joined. Only one
continuance shall be allowed for the purpose of joining additional
parties. Subsequent to the first hearing the appeals board shall join
as a party defendant any additional employer when it appears that
the employer is a proper party, but the liability of the employer
shall not be determined until supplemental proceedings are
instituted.
   (c) In any case involving a claim of occupational disease or
cumulative injury occurring as a result of more than one employment
within the appropriate time period set forth in subdivision (a), the
employee making the claim, or his or her dependents, may elect to
proceed against any one or more of the employers. Where such an
election is made, the employee must successfully prove his or her
claim against any one of the employers named, and any award which the
appeals board shall issue awarding compensation benefits shall be a
joint and several award as against any two or more employers who may
be held liable for compensation benefits. If, during the pendency of
any claim wherein the employee or his or her dependents has made an
election to proceed against one or more employers, it should appear
that there is another proper party not yet joined, the additional
party shall be joined as a defendant by the appeals board on the
motion of any party in interest, but the liability of the employer
shall not be determined until supplemental proceedings are
instituted. Any employer joined as a defendant subsequent to the
first hearing or subsequent to the election provided herein shall not
be entitled to participate in any of the proceedings prior to the
appeal board's final decision, nor to any continuance or further
proceedings, but may be permitted to ascertain from the employee or
his or her dependents such information as will enable the employer to
determine the time, place, and duration of the alleged employment.
On supplemental proceedings, however, the right of the employer to
full and complete examination or cross-examination shall not be
restricted.
   (d) (1) In the event a self-insured employer which owns and
operates a work location in the State of California, sells or has
sold the ownership and operation of the work location pursuant to a
sale of a business or all or part of the assets of a business to
another self-insured person or entity after January 1, 1974, but
before January 1, 1978, and all the requirements of subparagraphs (A)
to (D), inclusive, exist, then the liability of the employer-seller
and employer-buyer, respectively, for cumulative injuries suffered by
employees employed at the work location immediately before the sale
shall, until January 1, 1986, be governed by the provisions of this
section which were in effect on the date of that sale.
   (A) The sale constitutes a material change in ownership of such
work location.
   (B) The person or entity making the purchase continues the
operation of the work location.
   (C) The person or entity becomes the employer of substantially all
of the employees of the employer-seller.
   (D) The agreement of sale makes no special provision for the
allocation of liabilities for workers' compensation between the buyer
and the seller.
   (2) For purposes of this subdivision:
   (A) "Work location" shall mean any fixed place of business,
office, or plant where employees regularly work in the trade or
business of the employer.
   (B) A "material change in ownership" shall mean a change in
ownership whereby the employer-seller does not retain, directly or
indirectly, through one or more corporate entities, associations,
trusts, partnerships, joint ventures, or family members, a
controlling interest in the work location.
   (3) This subdivision shall have no force or effect on or after
January 1, 1986, unless otherwise extended by the Legislature prior
to that date, and it shall not have any force or effect as respects
an employee who, subsequent to the sale described in paragraph (1)
and prior to the date of his or her application for compensation
benefits has been filed, is transferred to a different work location
by the employer-buyer.
   (4) If any provision of this subdivision or the application
thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, that
invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this
subdivision which can be given effect without the invalid provision
or application, and to this end the provisions of this subdivision
are severable.
   (e) At any time within one year after the appeals board has made
an award for compensation benefits in connection with an occupational
disease or cumulative injury, any employer held liable under the
award may institute proceedings before the appeals board for the
purpose of determining an apportionment of liability or right of
contribution. The proceeding shall not diminish, restrict, or alter
in any way the recovery previously allowed the employee or his or her
dependents, but shall be limited to a determination of the
respective contribution rights, interest or liabilities of all the
employers joined in the proceeding, either initially or
supplementally; provided, however, if the appeals board finds on
supplemental proceedings for the purpose of determining an
apportionment of liability or of a right of contribution that an
employer previously held liable in fact has no liability, it may
dismiss the employer and amend its original award in such manner as
may be required.
   (f) If any proceeding before the appeals board for the purpose of
determining an apportionment of liability or of a right of
contribution where any employee incurred a disability or death
resulting from silicosis in underground metal mining operations, the
determination of the respective rights and interests of all of the
employers joined in the proceedings either initially or
supplementally shall be as follows:
   (1) All employers whose underground metal mining operations
resulted in a silicotic exposure during the period of the employee's
employment in those operations shall be jointly and severally liable
for the payment of compensation and of medical, surgical, legal and
hospital expense which may be awarded to the employee or his or her
estate or dependents as the result of disability or death resulting
from or aggravated by the exposure.
   (2) In making its determination in the supplemental proceeding for
the purpose of determining an apportionment of liability or of a
right of contribution of percentage liabilities of the various
employers engaged in underground metal mining operations the appeals
board shall consider as a rebuttal presumption that employment in
underground work in any mine for a continuous period of more than
three calendar months will result in a silicotic exposure for the
employee so employed during the period of employment if the
underground metal mine was driven or sunk in rock having a
composition which will result in dissemination of silica or silicotic
dust particles when drilled, blasted, or transported.
   (g) Any employer shall be entitled to rebut the presumption by
showing to the satisfaction of the appeals board, or the workers'
compensation judge, that the mining methods used by the employer in
the employee's place of employment did not result during his or her
employment in the creation of silica dust in sufficient amount or
concentration to constitute a silicotic hazard. Dust counts,
competently made, at intervals and in locations as meet the
requirements of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health for
safe working conditions may be received as evidence of the amount and
concentration of silica dust in the workings where the counts have
been made at the time when they were made. The appeals board may from
time to time, as its experience may indicate proper, promulgate
orders as to the frequency with which dust counts shall be taken in
different types of workings in order to justify their acceptance as
evidence of the existence or nonexistence of a silicotic hazard in
the property where they have been taken.
   (h) The amendments to this section adopted at the 1959 Regular
Session of the Legislature shall operate retroactively, and shall
apply retrospectively to any cases pending before the appeals board
or courts. From and after the date this section becomes effective no
payment shall be made out of the fund used for payment of the
additional compensation provided for in Section 4751, or out of any
other state funds, in satisfaction of any liability heretofore
incurred or hereafter incurred, except awards which have become final
without regard to the continuing jurisdiction of the appeals board
on that effective date, and the state and its funds shall be without
liability therefor. This subdivision shall not in any way effect a
reduction in any benefit conferred or which may be conferred upon any
injured employee or his dependents.
   (i) The amendments to this section adopted at the 1977 Regular
Session of the Legislature shall apply to any claims for benefits
under this division which are filed or asserted on or after January
1, 1978, unless otherwise specified in this section.

5500.6.  Liability for occupational disease or cumulative injury
which results from exposure solely during employment as an employee,
as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 3351, shall be limited to
those employers in whose employment the employee was exposed to the
hazards of the occupational disease or cumulative injury during the
last day on which the employee was employed in an occupation exposing
the employee to the hazards of the disease or injury. In the event
that none of the employers of the last day of hazardous employment is
insured for workers' compensation liability, that liability, shall
be imposed upon the last employer exposing the employee to the
hazards of the occupational disease or cumulative injury who has
secured workers' compensation insurance coverage or an approved
alternative thereto. If, based upon all the evidence presented, the
appeals board or the workers' compensation judge finds the existence
of cumulative injury or occupational disease, liability for the
cumulative injury or occupational disease shall not be apportioned to
prior employers. However, in determining liability, evidence of
disability due to specific injury, disability due to non-work-related
causes, or disability previously compensated for by way of a
findings and award or order approving compromise and release, or a
voluntary payment of disability, may be admissible for purposes of
apportionment.

5501.  The application may be filed with the appeals board by any
party in interest, his attorney, or other representative authorized
in writing. A representative who is not an attorney licensed by the
State Bar of this state shall notify the appeals board in writing
that he or she is not an attorney licensed by the State Bar of this
state. Upon the filing of the application, the appeals board shall,
where the applicant is represented by an attorney or other
representative, serve a conformed copy of the application showing the
date of filing and the case number upon applicant's attorney or
representative. The applicant's attorney or representative shall,
upon receipt of the conformed copy, forthwith serve a copy of the
conformed application upon all other parties to the claim. If the
applicant is unrepresented, a copy thereof shall forthwith be served
upon all adverse parties by the appeals board.

5501.5.  (a) The application for adjudication of claim shall be
filed in any of the following locations:
   (1) In the county where the injured employee or dependent of a
deceased employee resides on the date of filing.
   (2) In the county where the injury allegedly occurred, or, in
cumulative trauma and industrial disease claims, where the last
alleged injurious exposure occurred.
   (3) In the county where the employee's attorney maintains his or
her principal place of business, if the employee is represented by an
attorney.
   (b) If the county selected for filing has more than one office of
the appeals board, the application shall be filed at any location of
the appeals board within that county that meets the criteria
specified in subdivision (a). The written consent of the employee, or
dependent of a deceased employee, to the selected venue site shall
be filed with the application.
   (c) If the venue site where the application is to be filed is the
county where the employee's attorney maintains his or her principal
place of business, the attorney for the employee shall indicate that
venue site when forwarding the information request form required by
Section 5401.5. The employer shall have 30 days from receipt of the
information request form to object to the selected venue site. Where
there is an employer objection to a venue site under paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a), then the application shall be filed pursuant to
either paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a).
   (d) If there is no appeals board office in the county where venue
is permitted under subdivision (a), the application shall be filed at
the appeals board office nearest the residence on the date of filing
of the injured employee or dependent of a deceased employee, or the
nearest place where the injury allegedly occurred, or, in cumulative
trauma and industrial disease claims, where the last injurious
exposure occurred, or nearest the location where the attorney of the
employee maintains his or her principal place of business, unless the
employer objects under subdivision (c).

5501.6.  (a) An applicant or defendant may petition the appeals
board for a change of venue and a change of venue shall be granted
for good cause. The reasons for the change of venue shall be
specifically set forth in the request for change of venue.
   (b) If a change of venue is requested for the convenience of
witnesses, the names and addresses of these witnesses and the
substance of their testimony shall be specifically set forth in the
request for change of venue.

5502.  (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (d), the
hearing shall be held not less than 10 days, and not more than 60
days, after the date a declaration of readiness to proceed, on a form
prescribed by the court administrator, is filed. If a claim form has
been filed for an injury occurring on or after January 1, 1990, and
before January 1, 1994, an application for adjudication shall
accompany the declaration of readiness to proceed.
   (b) The court administrator shall establish a priority calendar
for issues requiring an expedited hearing and decision. A hearing
shall be held and a determination as to the rights of the parties
shall be made and filed within 30 days after the declaration of
readiness to proceed is filed if the issues in dispute are any of the
following:
   (1) The employee's entitlement to medical treatment pursuant to
Section 4600.
   (2) The employee's entitlement to, or the amount of, temporary
disability indemnity payments.
   (3) The employee's entitlement to vocational rehabilitation
services, or the termination of an employer's liability to provide
these services to an employee.
   (4) The employee's entitlement to compensation from one or more
responsible employers when two or more employers dispute liability as
among themselves.
   (5) Any other issues requiring an expedited hearing and
determination as prescribed in rules and regulations of the
administrative director.
   (c) The court administrator shall establish a priority conference
calendar for cases in which the employee is represented by an
attorney and the issues in dispute are employment or injury arising
out of employment or in the course of employment. The conference
shall be conducted by a workers' compensation administrative law
judge within 30 days after the declaration of readiness to proceed.
If the dispute cannot be resolved at the conference, a trial shall be
set as expeditiously as possible, unless good cause is shown why
discovery is not complete, in which case status conferences shall be
held at regular intervals. The case shall be set for trial when
discovery is complete, or when the workers' compensation
administrative law judge determines that the parties have had
sufficient time in which to complete reasonable discovery. A
determination as to the rights of the parties shall be made and filed
within 30 days after the trial.
   (d) The court administrator shall report quarterly to the Governor
and to the Legislature concerning the frequency and types of issues
which are not heard and decided within the period prescribed in this
section and the reasons therefor.
   (e) (1) In all cases, a mandatory settlement conference shall be
conducted not less than 10 days, and not more than 30 days, after the
filing of a declaration of readiness to proceed. If the dispute is
not resolved, the regular hearing shall be held within 75 days after
the declaration of readiness to proceed is filed.
   (2) The settlement conference shall be conducted by a workers'
compensation administrative law judge or by a referee who is eligible
to be a workers' compensation administrative law judge or eligible
to be an arbitrator under Section 5270.5. At the mandatory settlement
conference, the referee or workers' compensation administrative law
judge shall have the authority to resolve the dispute, including the
authority to approve a compromise and release or issue a stipulated
finding and award, and if the dispute cannot be resolved, to frame
the issues and stipulations for trial. The appeals board shall adopt
any regulations needed to implement this subdivision. The presiding
workers' compensation administrative law judge shall supervise
settlement conference referees in the performance of their judicial
functions under this subdivision.
   (3) If the claim is not resolved at the mandatory settlement
conference, the parties shall file a pretrial conference statement
noting the specific issues in dispute, each party's proposed
permanent disability rating, and listing the exhibits, and disclosing
witnesses. Discovery shall close on the date of the mandatory
settlement conference. Evidence not disclosed or obtained thereafter
shall not be admissible unless the proponent of the evidence can
demonstrate that it was not available or could not have been
discovered by the exercise of due diligence prior to the settlement
conference.
   (f) In cases involving the Director of the Department of
Industrial Relations in his or her capacity as administrator of the
Uninsured Employers Fund, this section shall not apply unless proof
of service, as specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of
Section 3716 has been filed with the appeals board and provided to
the Director of Industrial Relations, valid jurisdiction has been
established over the employer, and the fund has been joined.
   (g) Except as provided in subdivision (a) and in Section 4065, the
provisions of this section shall apply irrespective of the date of
injury.

5502.5.  A continuance of any conference or hearing required by
Section 5502 shall not be favored, but may be granted by a workers'
compensation judge upon any terms as are just upon a showing of good
cause. When determining a request for continuance, the workers'
compensation judge shall take into consideration the complexity of
the issues, the diligence of the parties, and the prejudice incurred
on the part of any party by reasons of granting or denying a
continuance.

5503.  The person so applying shall be known as the applicant and
the adverse party shall be known as the defendant.

5504.  A notice of the time and place of hearing shall be served
upon the applicant and all adverse parties and may be served either
in the manner of service of a summons in a civil action or in the
same manner as any notice that is authorized or required to be served
under the provisions of this division.

5505.  If any defendant desires to disclaim any interest in the
subject matter of the claim in controversy, or considers that the
application is in any respect inaccurate or incomplete, or desires to
bring any fact, paper, or document to the attention of the appeals
board as a defense to the claim or otherwise, he may, within 10 days
after the service of the application upon him, file with or mail to
the appeals board his answer in such form as the appeals board may
prescribe, setting forth the particulars in which the application is
inaccurate or incomplete, and the facts upon which he intends to
rely. A copy of the answer shall be forthwith served upon all adverse
parties. Evidence upon matters not pleaded by answer shall be
allowed only upon the terms and conditions imposed by the appeals
board or referee holding the hearing.

5506.  If the defendant fails to appear or answer, no default shall
be taken against him, but the appeals board shall proceed to the
hearing of the matter upon the terms and conditions which it deems
proper. A defendant failing to appear or answer, or subsequently
contending that no service was made upon him, or claiming to be
aggrieved in any other manner by want of notice of the pendency of
the proceedings, may apply to the appeals board for relief
substantially in accordance with the provisions of Section 473 of the
Code of Civil Procedure. The appeals board may afford such relief.
No right to relief, including the claim that the findings and award
of the appeals board or judgment entered thereon are void upon their
face, shall accrue to such defendant in any court unless prior
application is made to the appeals board in accordance with this
section. In no event shall any petition to any court be allowed
except as prescribed in Sections 5950 and 5951.

5507.  If an application shows upon its face that the applicant is
not entitled to compensation, the appeals board may, after
opportunity to the applicant to be heard orally or to submit his
claim or argument in writing dismiss the application without any
hearing thereon. Such dismissal may be upon the motion of the appeals
board or upon motion of the adverse party. The pendency of such
motion or notice of intended dismissal shall not, unless otherwise
ordered by the appeals board, delay the hearing on the application
upon its merits.