Links

• California Labor & Workforce Development Agency

Guide to faster and easier settlements

To eliminate a large appeals backlog, the appeals board is seeking the cooperation of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health and employers. If the parties to an appeal resolve the issues, the parties are urged to communicate that resolution to the board immediately. This applies to all new cases. To the extent practical, reviewing older cases for similar disposition would also aid this effort. All proposed dispositions will be reviewed and, if the appropriate grounds are set forth, an Administrative Law Judge will issue an order disposing of the appeal, provided the requisite period for notice and posting to employees has passed.

Parties interested in participating in the above effort should use the following procedure. (Parties who intend to submit their own signed stipulated settlement must call, mail, or fax, their information to the Appeals Board. E-mail communications to the Appeals Board are not accepted.)

The essence of the program is: If you settle a case and want an ALJ order, contact the appeals board immediately. Do not wait for a prehearing and do not wait for the traditional docketed appeal letter.

1. If a case is settled before a formal docketed appeal letter is received, contact ALJ Manuel Melgoza.
   

2. If a case is settled after the docketed appeal letter is received but before the calendar week in which the case is to be heard, contact the ALJ on the docketed appeal letter, or a designated prehearing ALJ if that is different.

3. If the settlement is reached the same calendar week in which the case is to be heard, contact the hearing ALJ.

4. E-mail communication to the ALJs is the preferred method. The communication should contain the terms of the settlement, the reasons, the name of the compliance officer, and the reason for the inspection. The terms of the settlement must be confirmed by the employer, or by the division in those cases where an employer submits the terms to the ALJ. Confirmation can be done via e-mail, telephone, or letter, if e-mail is not an option.

5. E-mail communication from the parties will not take the case off-calendar automatically. Confirmation that the terms of a disposition have been accepted by an ALJ is needed before a case is considered off-calendar. Thus, particularly as a case gets closer to hearing, telephone contact is suggested as well as e-mail.