What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration denied; WCJ's decision to deny attorneys' fees and sanctions upheld.
Petition for Reconsideration filed by applicant seeking attorneys' fees and sanctions under Labor Code section 5813, after WCJ issued Findings and Award on May 30, 2025 denying those fees and sanctions but awarding penalties under Labor Code section 5814.
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 did not present evidence of bad faith or willful failure to comply by defendant to support sanctions or attorneys' fees. WCJ's discretion to deny sanctions and fees was not abused.
From the decision · page 6Applicant's petition for penalties sought sanctions, penalties and attorneys' fees for the same alleged conduct: namely, defendant's failure to pay temporary disability in this case. Penalties under Labor Code section 5814, which apply when payment that is due is either delayed or denied, are an inducement for prompt payment, while sanctions under our Labor Code section 5813 are "designed to protect against litigation abuses, not to remedy or penalize delayed payments of awards." (Duncan v. Workers' Comp. Appl. Bd, (2008) 73 Cal. Comp. Cases 1197, 1202.) Bad faith actions or tactics "include actions or tactics that result from a willful failure to comply with a statutory or regulatory obligation," disrupt or delay proceedings, or that "are done for an improper motive or are indisputably without merit." (Title 8, Cal. Code Reg. section 10421(b).) Applicant has presented no evidence that would support a finding of sanctions.