Wcab Commissioners' Settlement Conference: an Interview With Judge David Hettick

• Publication year: 2019
• Author: Saro K. Kerkonian, Esq.

WCAB Commissioners' Settlement Conference: An Interview with Judge David Hettick

Saro K. Kerkonian, Esq.

Los Angeles, California

Victor Hugo once said, "Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come." The commissioners of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board may have had this in mind when they implemented one of the WCAB's newest programs, the Commissioners' Settlement Conference.

Practitioners who have recently filed a Petition for Reconsideration that was granted and taken under further study may have received a letter from the WCAB informing them the commissioners have chosen their case for participation in the Commissioners' Settlement Conference program. Practitioners may also have been informed that their case has been assigned to Workers' Compensation Judge David Hettick (Ret.), who serves as a mediator for the program. I talked with Judge Hettick to learn more about the program.

Judge Hettick served for 28 years as a trial judge at the San Francisco and Oakland district offices of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. He was chosen to serve in the capacity of mediator for the Commissioners' Settlement Conference program because of his vast expertise in mediating claims on a daily basis during his tenure as a workers' compensation judge. When I talked with Judge Hettick he provided some background about the novel program.

Statutory Authority

Judge Hettick explained that for many years, the commissioners have had the power, pursuant to California Labor Code section 5310, to conduct commissioners' conferences. In the past, however, the power was exercised sparingly, primarily to compel appearances at hearings for contempt.

California Labor Code section 5310 provides:

The appeals board may appoint one or more workers' compensation administrative law judges in any proceeding, as it may deem necessary or advisable, and may refer, remove to itself, or transfer to a workers' compensation administrative law judge the proceedings on any claim. The administrative director may appoint workers' compensation administrative law judges. Any workers' compensation administrative law judge appointed by the administrative director has the powers, jurisdiction, and authority granted by law, by the order of appointment, and by the rules of the appeals board.

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In June 2016 the commissioners, inspired by the success of alternative dispute resolution methods including mediation programs in the civil courts, determined it was time to implement such a...