DWC Announces Appointment to Ethics Advisory Committee

Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) Administrative Director George Parisotto has appointed William E. Gunn to serve as a member of the Workers’ Compensation Ethics Advisory Committee. William E. Gunn is presiding workers’ compensation administrative law judge of DWC’s Special Adjudication Unit at the Van Nuys district office. 

The appointment is effective June 1, 2021.  

William E. Gunn will fill the position designated for a presiding judge, replacing Anaheim Presiding Judge Jamie Spitzer, who was named Associate Chief Judge.

Judge Gunn has overseen the DWC Special Adjudication Unit (SAU) since its inception in 2017. The SAU primarily adjudicates medical provider suspension hearings and special lien proceedings pursuant to Labor Code section 139.21. Prior to that, Judge Gunn was a workers’ compensation administrative judge at the Fresno district office from 2014-2017. Judge Gunn also practiced workers’ compensation law as an applicants’ attorney and a defense attorney from 1992-2014. 

The Ethics Advisory Committee, established in 1995 by Title 8, California Code of Regulations, section 9722, reviews all ethics complaints from the public against workers' compensation administrative law judges.

The committee reviews all complaints without learning the names of complainants or judges, and then makes recommendations to the DWC Administrative Director and the Chief Judge. The members meet quarterly and serve without compensation.

The committee includes the following members: a member of the public representing organized labor; a member of the public representing insurers; a member of the public representing self-insured employers; an attorney who formerly practiced before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board and who usually represented insurers or employers; an attorney who formerly practiced before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board and who usually represented applicants; a presiding judge; a workers’ compensation administrative law judge (WCALJ) or retired WCALJ; and two members of the public outside the workers' compensation community.

A judicial ethics complaint form and instructions can be found on the forms page of the DWC website.

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