What the panel ordered
The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board affirmed the August 15, 2023 Findings and Order denying the applicant's request for a second Return-to-Work Supplement Program payment under Rule 17302(b).
Petition for reconsideration of the August 15, 2023 Findings and Order denying applicant's request for a second Return-to-Work Supplement Program payment.
What was disputed, and how it came out
Each issue the panel decided, with the reasoning it gave. An outcome is what this panel did on this record — not a rule, and not a prediction.
The Board found that Rule 17302(b) prohibits a second RTWSP payment unless the individual receives a subsequent SJDB Voucher for a later injury, and the applicant did not meet this requirement. The Board also held that the applicant's remedy to challenge the regulation's validity lies in Superior Court, not the Appeals Board.
From the decision · page 1Applicant seeks reconsideration of the August 15, 2023 Findings and Order, wherein the workers' compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) found that applicant is not entitled to an additional payment from the Return-to-Work Supplement Program (RTWSP) because applicant received an earlier RTWSP in connection with a prior injury after the date of the instant injury from which applicant is claiming RTWSP benefits. Rule 17302(b) prohibits a second or subsequent RTWSP payment "except where the individual receives a [Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit (SJDB)] Voucher for an injury which occurs subsequent to receipt of every previous Return to Work Supplement." (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 17302(b).)