DWC Guidance in Regard to Claim Penalties During the Pandemic

This morning DWC Administrative Director George Parisotto advised the Institute that the Division’s Audit Unit is currently providing the following guidance in regard to workers’ compensation claim penalties during the COVID-19 pandemic:  

Unfortunately, DWC has no authority to say anything on 5814 penalties; if a judge decides a penalty under that section is appropriate, then that has to be taken up the WCAB ladder.

1.  At this time, the DWC has no authority to suspend our statutory or regulatory provisions.
2. DWC will certainly consider all relevant and mitigating facts: (1) when considering a deadline that may have been missed due to compliance with either a COVID-19 mandate (i.e., a stay in shelter order) or a COVID-19 guideline issued by a state or federal agency; or (2) prior to assessing an administrative penalty for a violation that can be attributed to COVID-19.  The affected party should be sure to document any shutdowns, office closures, or public mandate/guideline as evidence of an actual impact. DWC will not be issuing audit penalties or fines due to improper benefit payments caused by the current COVID-19 crisis.
3. DWC has no authority to advise a workers’ compensation judge on a course of action should a COVID-19 issue be brought before them.

The Division plans to issue a Newsline to publicly announce these guidelines.  DWC Newslines can be found under Latest News and Announcements at https://www.dir.ca.gov/mediaroom.html.  

BY/