When Does a Court of Appeal Have Jurisdiction Over a Wcab Decision?

• Publication year: 2022
• Author: CLAUDIA L. SANDOVAL-ANZO, ESQ.

When Does a Court of Appeal Have Jurisdiction over a WCAB Decision?

CLAUDIA L. SANDOVAL-ANZO, ESQ.

SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA

JOEY SILBERMAN, ESQ.

SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA

The case of People v. Czirban (2022) 7 Cal.App.5th 1050 is an appeal from a restitution order awarded in a criminal matter. The case is relevant to the question of appellate court jurisdiction over a WCAB decision.

Ian Czirban, an uninsured employer, was convicted of failure to secure payment of workers' compensation insurance, among other crimes. This came to light after one of his workers, while assisting in fighting a wildfire, was ejected from Mr. Czirban's bulldozer and crushed to death by it. After Mr. Czirban's conviction, the criminal trial court ordered him to pay restitution to the deceased worker's dependents. The restitution ordered included unpaid wages, attorney fees incurred by the survivors in their worker's compensation case, legal costs and interest. Mr. Czirban's appeal argued that the restitution of the attorney fees was improperly awarded.

[Page 6]

For workers' compensation attorneys, the pertinent part of this case is in the procedure. The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) judge signed an Order Approving Compromise and Release that awarded benefits to the survivors, minus attorney fees. Mr. Czirban argued that under Labor Code section 4555, which states, in pertinent part:

In case of failure by an employer to secure the payment of compensation, the appeals board may award a reasonable attorney's fee in addition to the amount of compensation recoverable[,]

attorney fees should have been added to, rather than omitted from, the survivors' benefit.

However, Mr. Czirban failed to object to the WCAB's Notice of Intent to Approve Compromise and Release. He also failed to file any writ or petition for reconsideration with the WCAB. The first objection to the Compromise and Release came at the time of the victim restitution award, in the criminal court. The appellate court, when it affirmed the order for restitution, relied on Mr. Czirban's failure to object or appeal at the WCAB.

HOW DOES THE COURT OF APPEAL ASSERT JURISDICTION TO REVIEW A WCAB ORDER?

The WCAB has exclusive jurisdiction over attorney fees, as established in Greener v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (1993) 6 Cal.4th 1028. Under the decision, this power is derived from the Legislature's delegating of power to the WCAB that gives the Board rulemaking and adjudicatory powers. As a result of this exclusivity, certain steps...