Where this sits
- Chapter 4.5.
- Division of Workers' Compensation
- Subchapter 2. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board--Rules and Practice Procedure
- Article 13. Hearings
The regulation, as printed
(a) In accordance with Labor Code section 5502, the workers' compensation judge shall have authority to inquire into the adequacy and completeness, including provision for lien claims, of Compromise and Release agreements or Stipulations with Request for Award or orders, and to issue orders approving Compromise and Release agreements or awards or orders based upon approved stipulations. The workers' compensation judge may temporarily adjourn a conference to a time certain to facilitate a specific resolution of the dispute(s) subject to Labor Code section 5502(d)(1). Subject to the provisions of Labor Code section 5502.5 and rule 10744, upon a showing of good cause, the workers' compensation judge may continue a mandatory settlement conference to a date certain, may continue it to a status conference on a date certain, or may take the case off calendar. In such a case, the workers' compensation judge shall note the reasons for the continuance or order taking off calendar in the minutes. The minutes shall be served on all parties and their representatives. (b) The parties shall meet and confer prior to the mandatory settlement conference and, absent resolution of the dispute(s), the parties shall complete a joint Pre-Trial Conference Statement setting forth the issues and stipulations for trial, witnesses, and a list of exhibits by the close of the mandatory settlement conference. A defendant that has paid benefits shall have a current computer printout of benefits paid available for inspection at every mandatory settlement conference. (c) Each exhibit listed must be clearly identified by author/provider, date, and title or type (e.g., “the July 1, 2008 medical report of John Doe, M.D. (3 pages)”). Each medical report, medical-legal report, medical record, or other paper or record having a different author/provider and/or a different date is a separate “document” and must be listed as a separate exhibit, with the exception that the following documents may be listed as a single exhibit, unless otherwise ordered by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board: (1) Excerpted portions of physician, hospital or dispensary records, provided that the party offering the exhibit designates each excerpted portion by the title of the record or document, by the date or dates of treatment or other service(s) covered by the record or document, by the author or authors of the record or document, and by any available page number(s) (e.g., Bates-numbered pages of records or documents photocopied and numbered by a legal copy service). Only the relevant excerpts of physician, hospital or dispensary records shall be admitted in evidence; (2) Excerpted portions of personnel records, wage records and statements, job descriptions, and other business records provided that the party offering the exhibit designates each excerpted portion by the title of the record or document, by the date or dates covered by the record or document, by the author or authors of the record or document, and by any available page number(s) (e.g., Bates-numbered pages of records or documents photocopied and numbered by a legal copy service). Only the relevant excerpts of personnel records, wage records and statements, job descriptions, and other business records shall be admitted in evidence; and (3) Explanation of Benefits (EOB) letters. (d) The workers' compensation judge may make orders and rulings regarding admission of evidence and discovery matters, including admission of offers of proof and stipulations of testimony where appropriate and necessary for resolution of the dispute(s) by the workers' compensation judge, and may submit and decide the dispute(s) on the record pursuant to the agreement of the parties. (e) The joint Pre-Trial Conference Statement, the disposition, and any orders shall be completed by the close of the mandatory settlement conference and shall be filed by the workers' compensation judge in the record of the proceedings on a form prescribed and approved by the Appeals Board and shall be served on the parties.
Authority and history
Note: Authority cited: Sections 133, 5307 and 5502, Labor Code. Reference: Sections 5502 and 5502.5, Labor Code.
1. New section filed 12-17-2019; operative 1-1-2020. Submitted to OAL for printing only pursuant to Government Code section 11351 (Register 2019, No. 51). 2. Amendment filed 12-15-2021; operative 1-1-2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3). Submitted to OAL for filing and printing only pursuant to Government Code section 11351 (Register 2021, No. 51).
What panels did with this rule
Released decisions that named § 10759, with the passage each turned on. A panel decision persuades; it does not bind.
- ADJ15105366 · 2026-02-17 · Riverside District Office8 CCR § 10759
Determinative passage · p.6The workers' compensation judge may make orders and rulings regarding admission of evidence and discovery matters, including admission of offers of proof and stipulations of testimony where appropriate and necessary for resolution of the dispute(s) by the workers' compensation judge, and may submit and decide the dispute(s) on the record pursuant to the agreement of the parties.
The parties' agreement at the November 27, 2024 Expedited Hearing was reduced to a Minute Order by the WCJ.
Official decision · page 6 → - ADJ10418270 · 2025-09-09 · Lodi District Office8 CCR § 10759
Determinative passage · p.5In accordance with Labor Code section 5502, the workers' compensation judge shall have authority to inquire into the adequacy and completeness, including provision for lien claims, of Compromise and Release agreements...and to issue orders approving Compromise and Release agreements....
Applied to find WCJ erred by not reviewing court file for unresolved attorney's fee lien before approving C&R.
Official decision · page 5 → - ADJ12041587 · 2022-10-31 · Van Nuys District Office8 CCR § 10759
Determinative passage · p.3prescribed and approved by the Appeals Board and shall be served on the parties. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10759(b), (e) (amended as of January 1, 2022.) Here a WCJ issued an order at the May 3, 2022 mandatory settlement conference, which states that: "Parties are to file PTCS in 20 days." The matter was then set for trial on June 27, 2022, before a different WCJ. The parties appeared, but due to ongoing settlement negotiations, trial was continued to August 24, 2022. Yet, when the parties appeared on August 24, 2022, applicant had not yet participated in preparing the PTCS. All parties are expected to comply with orders by a WCJ and by the Appeals Board, and if they are unable to comply, they must seek the appropriate relief. Parties are reminded that a willful failure to comply with an order could subject the offending party to sanctions. (Lab. Code, § 5813; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10421.) With respect to the notice of intention issued by the WCJ on August 30, 2022, the issue of sanctions may properly be heard at the time of trial in the case in chief, and a record can be created. (See Hamilton v. Lockheed Corporation (Hamilton) (2001) 66 Cal.Comp.Cases 473, 476 (Appeals Board en banc) [decisions of the Appeals Board "must be based on admitted evidence in the record"]; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10787, 10803.)
The parties were reminded that failure to comply with orders could lead to sanctions, but the issue of sanctions was deferred to the trial in the case in chief.
Official decision · page 3 → - ADJ9757065 · 2021-11-30 · Van Nuys District Office8 CCR § 10759
Determinative passage · p.5In the Findings and Award ("F&A"), the undersigned noted that although exhibits five through thirty were admitted into evidence, they were not relevant to the F&A2. Consequently, even if these exhibits were deemed inadmissible, the record was sufficient to issue an F&A. Assuming, however, or the sake of argument, that the records were relied upon, the undersigned still finds that the exhibits were listed with sufficient specificity and are admissible. Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, l 0759 establishes the method for filing and listing exhibits at the Mandatory Settlement Conference ("MSC"). Pursuant to the rules:
The WCJ found the exhibits sufficiently identified and admissible despite missing dates.
Official decision · page 5 → - ADJ12829129 · 2021-02-01 · San Luis Obispo District Office8 CCR § 10759
Determinative passage · p.2"[T]he record of proceedings in a case submitted for decision on the record must be properly organized and must contain at the minimum: a list of the issues submitted to the WCJ for decision; the stipulations of the parties, if any; and the admitted evidence." (Hamilton v. Lockheed Corp. (2001) 66 Cal.Comp.Cases 473, 474 (Appeals Board en banc).) "The evidence submitted by the parties must be formally admitted and must be included in the record to enable the parties to comprehend the basis for the decision. Furthermore, a proper record enables any reviewing tribunal, be it the Appeals Board on reconsideration or a court of further appeal, to understand the basis for the decision." (Hamilton, supra, 475.) The Labor Code and the Appeals Board rules contain explicit instructions concerning the contents of the record of a case. (Lab. Code, § 5502; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10759 (b) and (c).) "It is the responsibility of the parties and the WCJ to ensure that the record is complete when a case is submitted for decision on the record." (Hamilton, supra, 477.)
The record was incomplete and lacked required elements, necessitating rescission and remand. The WCJ cannot rely on consultative ratings.
Official decision · page 2 →
Rules beside this one
Article 13. Hearings — regulations rarely stand alone, and the answer is often two sections away.