What the panel ordered
The WCAB granted reconsideration, amended the F&A to include a finding that the post-termination affirmative defense does not apply, and affirmed the F&A as amended.
Defendant sought reconsideration of the First Amended Findings & Award issued by the WCJ on March 8, 2021, challenging the application of the Labor Code section 3600(a)(10) post termination defense.
What was disputed, and how it came out
Each issue the panel decided, with the reasoning it gave. An outcome is what this panel did on this record — not a rule, and not a prediction.
Applicant resigned voluntarily, so the post-termination defense does not apply as there was no notice of termination or layoff by the employer.
From the decision · page 3employment was not terminated by defendant. In turn, there was no notice of termination or layoff.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
Applicant resigned from employment; there was no notice of termination or layoff by the employer.
Favours Applicant prevailed
Because the post-termination defense under Labor Code section 3600(a)(10) applies only when there is a notice of termination or layoff by the employer, and here applicant resigned voluntarily.
From the decision · page 3employment was not terminated by defendant. In turn, there was no notice of termination or layoff.
What the panel did with the medical opinions
The role the physician served, and the weight the opinion carried. Physicians are named here as the decision names them; we do not score them.
Applicant's condition had not reached maximum medical improvement; requested authorization for MRIs and electrodiagnostic studies.
From the decision · page 2On August 17, 2020, applicant was evaluated by orthopedic qualified medical examiner Arthur S. Harris, M.D. Dr. Harris examined applicant, and took a history. He concluded that applicant's condition had not reached maximum medical improvement. He requested authorization for MRIs of applicant's cervical and lumbar spine and bilateral shoulders, as well as electrodiagnostic studies of his upper and lower extremities. (Joint Exh. Y1, Dr. Harris, August 17, 2020, p. 7.)
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Labor Code section 3600(a)(10)
Labor Code section 3600(a)(10)
The defense applies only if there is a notice of termination or layoff by the employer; applicant resigned voluntarily, so the defense does not apply.
From the decision · page 3employment was not terminated by defendant. In turn, there was no notice of termination or layoff.
What proof carried it
The evidence the panel weighed, by kind.
Applicant did not advise supervisors of his alleged injury during employment.
From the decision · page 2The parties proceeded to trial on December 28, 2020. They stipulated that, "[A]pplicant did not advise the supervisors of his alleged injury during the time of his employment." (Minutes of Hearing and Summary of Evidence (MOH/SOE), December 28, 2020, p. 5.) The issues submitted for decision were injury AOE/COE and the post termination defense. (MOH/SOE, p. 2.) On February 17, 2021, the WCJ issued a Findings & Award/Opinion on Decision and on March 8, 2021, the WCJ issued the amended F&A, correcting a clerical error.
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About this page
- A published decision of the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, taken apart by what it turned on. The Board publishes the decision itself; this page adds the extraction and quotes the passage behind every claim.
- The injured worker is not named here, and the case caption is not printed. Physicians appear as the decision names them, because a medical opinion is an act in a public proceeding.
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