What the panel ordered
Petition for reconsideration granted; order requiring disposal of benefits under unclaimed property laws rescinded; all other findings and awards affirmed.
Defendant sought reconsideration of the WCJ's Findings, Award & Order dated September 13, 2023, which awarded temporary disability benefits, penalties, and EDD reimbursement; the WCAB granted reconsideration, rescinded the order regarding unclaimed property, and otherwise affirmed.
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.
Defendant's settlement with EDD was not approved by the WCJ as required by Labor Code section 5001, so the reimbursement award stands.
WCJ lacked statutory authority to order benefits disposed of under unclaimed property laws; no statutory lien exists for such disposition.
From the decision · page 5Here, by finding that, absent a timely petition by applicant, the benefits held in trust must be deposited with the state in accordance with the unclaimed property laws, the WCJ effectively allowed the state a lien against applicant's award. However, section 4903 does not mention the unclaimed property laws set forth in the Code of Civil Procedure. In the absence of a statutorily conferred lien, the WCJ lacked the power to allow the state a debt against applicant's benefits held in trust pursuant to the unclaimed property laws. (Lab. Code, § 4903; Ogdon, supra, 11 Cal.3d at p. 207.) Based on the foregoing, we will rescind this portion of the F&O, contained in Ordering Paragraph (b). (F&O, p. 3, Ordering Para. (b).) The remaining portions of the F&O are affirmed.