I want to . . .
Topics covered in this FAQ include:
The basics
Working in EAMS
Document scanning
Calendaring/scheduling
Conducting hearings
Hardware/software
Correspondence/serving parties
Electronic data exchange system (EDEX)
Q: What is EAMS?
A: EAMS is a computer based system that will simplify and improve the DWC case management process to more efficiently resolve claims, improve the ability to schedule and manage court calendars, allow files to be shared between multiple users and transform paper files into secure electronic files, reducing the need for physical storage space at local DWC offices and the State Records Center. EAMS will replace the current workers’ compensation court technology and supporting infrastructure.
Q: Why are we changing to this new system?
A: The DWC is currently operating with a 30-year-old system, the inefficiency of which has long been acknowledged. The goals of EAMS are to better serve injured workers and employers by eliminating redundancy, creating efficiency in the system and making the system more accessible to users, while preserving confidentiality. EAMS will reduce environmental and physical stress, along with injuries to DWC employees, and help guide policy decisions to better distribute resources.
Q: When will EAMS first be useable?
A: The implementation of EAMS will take place in two stages, beginning with DWC administration and district offices. After the new system has been successfully tested at the division, EAMS will become accessible to case participants and the general public.
The projected EAMS statewide “go live” date for DWC only is summer/fall 2008. There will be a series of pilot programs in various district offices before then. There will also be extensive training prior to the “go live” date. The schedule for the second stage of EAMS implementation has not yet been determined.
Q: Will the community be given lead time prior to mandatory implementation?
A: Yes. The division is currently testing EAMS and training staff in its use. After training, staff at district offices will be able to guide the workers’ compensation community through procedural changes. In addition, this Website will announce rule changes before implementation and provide “how to” guides to ease the transition. To receive updates, send an email to eams@dir.ca.gov.
Q: How can I stay up to date on the project?
A: DWC has designed an EAMS newsletter, Insider, that is emailed to subscribers. Sign up at eams@dir.ca.gov. There is also an EAMS page on the State of California Website, www.dwc.ca.gov/eams.
Q: Will I receive training on how to use EAMS?
A: Yes. Users will need to take a computer-based introductory training before being issued a login and password for EAMS. Assistance will be available at each district office.
Q: How will cases be created in EAMS?
A: If an injured worker is represented, proposed regulations will require his or her attorney to file an application for adjudication of claim by e-form once e-forms become available. Only unrepresented parties will be allowed to use a paper form to open a case. If the form is filed on paper, it will be scanned and the information captured through scanning will be used by EAMS to create a case file. During the first stage of EAMS implementation, DWC will accept only paper files and convert the information for internal use only. During the second stage of EAMS implementation, attorneys may have the option of filing the application electronically, and then EAMS will automatically create a case file.
Q: Will case information be kept confidential?
A: Case information that is statutorily required to be kept confidential will be accessible only to authorized users in accordance with the law. Applicants will have access to all information about their case including sensitive medical or psychological reports. Requests for access to any case information by persons who are not parties to the case will be handled as Public Records Act requests. This will include redaction of information as required.
Q: Does EAMS identify duplicate documents?
A: No. The system will not identify duplicate documents within a file. Therefore, it will be important for those preparing files for scanning and indexing to look for and eliminate duplicates.
Q: Will hard copies of case files or documents be destroyed after being scanned?
A: DWC will not destroy documents immediately. Legacy files, or those that currently exist, will be scanned into EAMS when the case comes up for trial. After scanning, the paper version of the legacy file will be kept for 30 days. Newly submitted paper documents will be kept for 14 days after being scanned into the system. Remember, EAMS is fundamentally the DWC’s case management system so case participants will still need to keep their own files, which will contain documents beyond what the DWC needs to resolve a dispute.
Q: Can forms that are scanned through optical character recognition (OCR) software be printed?
A: Yes. Once OCR’d forms enter the system they will be printable.
Q: How will illegible documents be handled?
A: EAMS will attempt to gather all the available information from the form. However, sometimes human intervention will be needed to determine the contents of documents that are submitted in an illegible format.
Q: Does EAMS automatically redact sensitive information?
A: No. However, EAMS will give users the ability to zoom in and out on documents, scroll up and down using the browser controls, annotate documents, and redact all or portions of a document by using the markup tools provided with the viewer.
Q: Are old cases being scanned in EAMS?
A: Cases that are active (that is, where a hearing is scheduled or where other significant action is being taken) will be scanned into EAMS prior to the hearing. Inactive cases with no expectation of future action will not be scanned unless the case becomes active. All information currently in a legacy system (a current system of record, like DEU’s system or the WCAB online system) will be converted and accessible through EAMS, but no documents associated with inactive cases will be scanned immediately after EAMS becomes active.
The division will decide what to do with very old inactive cases now at the State Resource Center (SRC) or in storage at local offices at some point in the future.
Q: How are mandatory settlement conference (MSC) dates selected?
A: Until e-filing becomes mandatory, case participants may file a paper declaration of readiness to proceed (DOR). EAMS then selects the conference date and judge automatically. When e-filing becomes available, a case participant will be able to use the e-form DOR over the Internet and will have a choice of seven dates. If those are not acceptable, another three dates within pre-determined time frames will be offered. Only the party requesting a conference by e-form will have a choice of dates—not the opponent.
When setting dates, an individual participant’s calendar will not be considered.
EAMS will attempt to set conferences before any previously assigned judge, unless that judge is recused, or is unavailable in the time frame designated for calendaring. If the assigned judge has taken testimony and is not available for a conference assignment within the pre-determined time frames in EAMS, the case will be set manually by the presiding judge.
Q: How will calendaring work in EAMS?
A: The process of filing a DOR for a conference is discussed under “How are MSC dates selected?” When a DOR is filed for an expedited hearing, these requests will be sent by EAMS to a presiding judge queue for the manual setting of expedited hearings. At the time of a conference, when there is a request for trial, it will be manually set by the calendar clerk.
Q: Can continuances still be requested?
A: Yes. Continuances may be requested by filing the appropriate request.
Q: How will forms that now are filled out by hand, such as the MSC statement and the C&R forms, at the district offices be handled under EAMS?
A: Parties will be provided with the new forms that they can fill out and submit, along with the requisite document cover sheets and separator sheets so they can be scanned in. Documents must be neat and legible so the data recognition feature in DWC’s scanners can capture as much information as possible.
Q: Can a document be displayed for everyone to see in the hearing room?
A: There will be a method of displaying electronic documents during trials. The division has assembled a group of both internal and external users to help determine the configuration of equipment in hearing rooms.
Q: How will new exhibits be brought into hearings?
A: The trial judge will identify the document on the record the same way it’s done now. After the trial, the court reporter will arrange to have the document scanned into EAMS and assigned a document number. A sub-set of that document number will be used to identify that exact document in the minutes of hearing and summary of evidence and will be marked as an exhibit.
Q: What equipment will be available in the hearing rooms?
A: Judges will have computers with EAMS access and there will be a method for the rest of the case participants to view documents in the hearing room.
Q: How will conferences be held in EAMS?
A: Conferences will be held much the same way as before EAMS. Those who require a trial will fill out a pretrial conference statement and list their evidence, in addition to the unique identifier number for each document. A mechanism is under development to provide parties with a list of documents in the electronic file and the unique document identifier number until there is widespread electronic file access for external users. Post-conference, this document will be scanned into EAMS and reside there for use at trial. For all other dispositions, parties will complete a paper pink sheet. The conference judge will fill out the disposition and collect the pink sheets, which will be scanned into EAMS and the disposition recorded following the conference.
Q: Will the “Minutes of Hearing and Summary of Evidence” get uploaded to EAMS?
A: Yes. All minutes of hearing, produced by court reporters after trial, will be uploaded into EAMS.
Q: How will the five-pager (pretrial conference statement) be used in EAMS?
A: The pre-trial conference statement will be the same as it is today. It will be completed in paper form and scanned into EAMS following the conference. At some future time, it may be possible to create an electronic pre-trial conference statement for use at conferences.
Q: What equipment will be required?
A: EAMS was designed so that external participants will only need a computer with an Internet connection and Web browser for access once this is available to external participants. It is expected that external participants will be encouraged to file documents in a searchable PDF format, although no final decision has been made.
Attorneys may find it useful to have a scanner to facilitate the submission of documents.
Because electronic filing and EAMS access will not be generally available at the time of the internal go-live date, parties may wish to defer purchase of equipment they intend to use for EAMS unless they presently have another need for the equipment.
About correspondence/serving parties:
Q: How will documents be served by the DWC?
A: Documents will be served by U.S. mail, fax or e-mail. Registered participants to a case will have the option to choose one of these methods of service, but no more than one. If service by U.S. mail is selected, the person assigned to this task in the various units will print the documents and send the mail in much the same way as it is done now. If one of the other methods is selected, EAMS will perform the service when requested. For companion cases, service will need to be performed in each separate case.
Q: How will method of service affect timing of appeals?
A: Parties will be able to specify a preferred method of service, either by fax, email or U.S. mail. There will be a new rule governing calculation of time for filing appeals.
Q: How does EAMS handle documents requiring judges’ signatures?
A: Judges will be able to sign documents using electronic signatures.
Q: Will there be standardized forms and templates in EAMS?
A: Yes. External users who are represented by attorneys will be required to file documents using e-forms available online once e-filing becomes generally available. As an interim measure, DWC intends to utilize and distribute new versions of the current forms which are being redesigned to be machine readable. These will be available by the internal go-live date.
Q: I have software to automatically populate e-forms so I don’t have to do it manually. Will it work with EAMS?
A: DWC is working with many third-party vendors to make its new, fillable, OCR forms compatible with “auto-populate” software and expects that technology to be available later this summer. Additionally, the DWC is working on ways to make e-forms (the electronic version of forms that will be available when external users are fully phased into EAMS) compatible with “auto-populate” software. Stay tuned for more details as this develops.
Q: What happens if documents are filed improperly?
A: If a case participant discovers that a document is filed improperly, there will be procedure to correct this mistake. If information about a document filed in EAMS were discovered to be incorrect, any internal user could correct this error.
Q: Will EAMS email receipts for served documents?
A: EAMS will acknowledge successful receipt of documents. The exact method of doing so is currently being designed.
Q: Does EAMS log events (proof of service)?
A: Yes, EAMS maintains a chronological log of events in a case.
Q: What is going to happen to EDEX when EAMS goes live?
A: The division is currently working with all the state’s EDEX vendors to ensure the majority of services provided through EDEX will continue. However, because the system from which EDEX gets data is changing, some of the data flowing through EDEX will change.
EDEX is essentially a conduit through which system users, such as lien claimants, health care organizations, attorneys and others, get information about cases before the DWC/Workers Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB). EDEX currently provides data contained in the WCAB online system to individuals and groups who use it in their case management functions and to file liens in workers’ compensation cases. When EAMS goes live, the data currently contained in the WCAB online system will be moved over to EAMS and the WCAB online system will cease to exist. Because the system the division is using to house and manage its data is changing, and because the laws have changed since EDEX was initially implemented, the way in which data is relayed through EDEX and the data that will be available to some EDEX users must change.
Q: What exactly is going to be different?
A: EDEX subscribers will be separated into two groups (governmental entities and private entities) with different levels of access to information. EDEX vendors will be responsible for separating their clients into the two groups. Additionally, EDEX vendors will be required to provide certification of each “governmental entity” client, otherwise the default return criteria for requested information will be at the level of “private entity.”
This distinction is made because under the law governmental agencies have the right to more information than private entities.
Governmental entities—state and local agencies such as cities and counties—may search the system using Social Security numbers and will receive those numbers, along with injured worker addresses, with information received through EDEX.
Private entity subscribers may search the system using Social Security numbers, but the information returned from EDEX will contain only the last four digits of the Social Security number, along with ZIP Code and date of birth. The injured worker’s residence address will not be provided to private entity subscribers. The subscriber will receive the name and address of the injured worker’s attorney for service of liens and supporting documentation. If the injured worker is represented, the injured worker’s law firm information will be provided. The absence of law firm information will indicate the injured worker is unrepresented.
Q: Any other changes?
A: Yes. When EDEX is transferred to EAMS, the ability to file an electronic notice of intention to file a lien in EDEX will cease and lien claimants will need to file perfected liens at the district offices once they find the case in EDEX.
This is currently required by state law and regulation but generally is not done correctly. For lien claimants, this means first billing the insurance company/employer, waiting the statutory period of time for the bill to be paid timely, then filing the lien with documentation of the services provided if the insurance company/employer does not pay the bill. Having the perfected lien will allow the lien claimant to access the adjudication file information, will allow the lien claimant to receive service from DWC of all hearing dates, will allow the judge in the case to decide the claim, and will move cases more expeditiously through the system with minimal required continuances or docket impact. Having the address of the injured worker’s attorney will allow the lien claimant to serve the lien.
DWC is also working with the WCAB to revise regulations related to liens to clearly state that, when the case in chief has been settled, the lien claimant doesn’t have to serve the injured worker. In this way, there is no need to have the injured worker’s residence address.
DWC expects that most potential lien claimants will:
1. Identify the case on which they want to file through EDEX
2. Bill the employer/insurance company for the services
3. Monitor the significant case events through EDEX, and then
4. File their lien and documentation at the district office.
Q: What about EDEX subscribers who are not lien claimants?
A: Subscribers who are not lien claimants, such as defense law firms, carriers and others, may continue to receive significant event notification through EDEX as private entity subscribers. Once the new interface is in place, new case opening information will not contain injured worker addresses and will only contain the last four digits of the Social Security number. Any subscriber, whether governmental or private, can request hearing notices on specific cases through EDEX, since only the case participants will automatically receive hearing notices from DWC through EAMS.
Q: Will there be regulatory changes associated with this?
A: Yes. The WCAB regulations will be amended to clarify that a lien may be filed before the parties are served. Section 10770 will be amended to state that if an applicant is represented the lien only needs to be served on the attorney of record and not additionally on the applicant.
Once the perfected lien is filed, the lien claimant is a party to the case and may obtain the injured worker’s residence address (which will be needed for service on an unrepresented applicant).
In order to reduce service requirements overall, regulations will also be revised to state that if the case has been settled by C&R, or the applicant’s case in chief has been completely resolved, the medical provider does not have to serve the injured worker or their representative because, by that point, they are completely out of the case. By doing this, DWC reduces the number of parties that need to be served in the lien process.
Q: How does DWC envision providing support to EDEX subscribers around these changes?
A: DWC is working with all the EDEX vendors to develop the new interface and to educate subscribers about the changes. DWC will provide updated information through the EDEX vendors, and on this Web site, as soon as it becomes available. If you have questions on this process, please submit them to your EDEX vendor, who will pass them on to DWC.
May 2008