Workers compensation cases in Mendocino County are typically filed in Santa Rosa. However, there are some filings in Eureka, which is a virtual WCAB and in Ukiah, which is a formal court a few times a month if someone has venued their case there. Before the WCAB allowed telephonic appearances, it was convenient to have multiple courts. With telephonic appearances and virtual trials the issue is moot. Any attorney in California can access any court, which leads to my next issue, obtaining and enforcing Supplemental Job Displacement Benefits (voucher).
The legislature did away with its vocational rehabilitation programs years ago, but injured workers are still entitled to a Supplemental Job Displacement Benefits (SJDB) in the form of a voucher which can be used for the purchase of computers or to pay tuition to certified classes. For injuries after January 2013 the voucher is worth $6,000. I have found employers and insurance carriers lax in providing SJDB benefits. In fact, I often must prompt the carrier to provide these benefits, a condition precedent to obtaining the $5,000 Return To Work payment from the State of California. Without a voucher, an injured worker does not qualify for the $5,000 payment. If an injured worker has multiple injuries, he is entitled to a voucher for each injury. LC 4658.7(g) and CCR 10133.31(h) preclude settlement or commutation of a claim for the supplemental job displacement benefit for injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2013 unless there is a good faith dispute whether or not the applicant actually has a claim AOE/COE. The language required to settle a voucher is very specific and if not included the parties will have a difficult time asserting no SJDB voucher is due.
The WCAB held that a defendant’s liability to provide an SJDB voucher is limited to two years from issuance of voucher, rather than two years from date applicant signs voucher, or the date the defendant releases the voucher funds.
In Jimenez v. State of California, Department of California Highway Patrol, 2024 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 150, the WCAB held that an applicant was entitled to the supplemental job displacement benefit voucher when the employer failed to timely make an offer of work following receipt of a QME’s report. It had found the applicant 97 percent disabled, even though it was stipulated that he was 100 percent disabled three years later. The WCAB noted that the defendant stood on the QME’s report for three years and fought against a 100 percent award. It concluded that the defendant’s duty to provide the voucher arose 60 days after receiving the QME report, and that duty was not negated by a subsequent agreement to permanent total disability several years later.
The WCAB has issued several cases in which LC § 5814 penalties apply to the unreasonable delay/denial of supplemental job displacement benefits, but the penalty of up to 25% is only on the amount actually used by the applicant, not the entire amount. In Fuentes v. The Cheesecake Factory (2016) Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 286, the Court held that the WCJ had jurisdiction to award a penalty for defendant’s delay in providing the voucher, finding that LC § 5300 conferred court jurisdiction over the recovery of compensation, and that the voucher is compensation. In Sandoval v. La Quinta Inn & Suites (2016) Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS 384, the WCAB rescinded the WCJ’s award of 25 percent penalty under Labor Code § 5814 on total value of the voucher for defendant’s failure to timely provide the voucher, and held that defendant was liable for a penalty only on the amount of the voucher actually used by applicant. This was further supported in Garcia v. Sara Lee Corporation 2016 Cal. Wrk. Comp. (Board Panel Decision in which it was held that the penalty of the unreasonably delayed voucher can only be calculated once the voucher payment is utilized.
In sum, if you were not offered modified work, or were found to have a permanent disability for an injury after January 1, 2013, contact an attorney for a full assessment. I am more than happy to help for cases in Mendocino County or venued in Santa Rosa, Ukaih, or Eureka.