Newsom Grants 60-Day Extensions of Procedural Deadlines by Executive Order

In response to the COVID-19 State of Emergency, on Friday, May 8, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-63-20 which effective immediately extended a number of procedural deadlines included in California regulations or statutes by 60 days.  Among the 60-day extensions of note to the workers’ compensation community are those included in #8 and #9 of the Order:

• the deadline for the AD’s approval of workers’ compensation MPN applications, modifications and reapprovals (LC § 4616(b)(1), CCR §§ 9767.2(a) and (b) and CCR § 9767.8(d))
•  the period within which DIR’s Return to Work Supplement Program (RTWSP) must receive an application for the RTWSP benefit (CCR § 17304), and the deadline to file a RTWSP appeal or any reply or responsive papers (CCR § 17309)
• the deadlines for WCALJs to file decisions (LC § 123.5 and CCR §§ 9713, 9714, and 9714.5)
• the deadline for the WCAB to act on a WCALJ decision (LC § 5313)
• the timeframes for Cal/OSHA and Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board (OSHSB) reports on proposed standards or variances (LC §§ 142.2 and 147)
• the deadlines related to appealing Cal/OSHA citations, notices, or orders (LC §§ 6319, 6600, 6600.5, 6601, and 6601.5)
• the deadlines for issuing Cal/OSHA citations (LC 6317)

A link to the Executive Order is included in the first line of this memo, and the May 8, 2020 news release from Governor Newsom’s Office announcing the Executive Order is posted at  https://www.gov.ca.gov/newsroom.

BY