Lawrence Weiner v. Ralphs Company, et al., WCAB Case No. ADJ347040 (MON 0305426)

The decision was filed and served on June 11, 2009.

On April 14, 2009 the Appeals Board granted reconsideration and issued a notice allowing interested persons and entities to file amicus curiae briefs on the issue of whether the WCAB has jurisdiction to award vocational rehabilitation benefits after the January 1, 2009 repeal of Labor Code section 139.5.  The time for briefing has expired, the filed briefs have been considered, and the Appeals Board now issues its en banc decision on the issue.

The Appeals Board held that: (1) the repeal of section 139.5 terminated any rights to vocational rehabilitation benefits or services pursuant to orders or awards that were not final before January 1, 2009; (2) a saving clause was not adopted to protect vocational rehabilitation rights in cases still pending on or after January 1, 2009; (3) the vocational rehabilitation statutes that were repealed in 2003 do not continue to function as “ghost statutes” on or after January 1, 2009; (4) effective January 1, 2009, the WCAB lost jurisdiction over non-vested and inchoate vocational rehabilitation claims, but the WCAB continues to have jurisdiction under sections 5502(b)(3) and 5803 to enforce or terminate vested rights; and (5) subject matter jurisdiction over non-vested and inchoate vocational rehabilitation claims cannot be conferred by waiver, estoppel, stipulation, or consent.