What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration denied
Petition for Reconsideration filed August 7, 2023, denied by panel decision on October 6, 2023
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.
Jurisdiction / venueDefendant prevailedback · heart
The panel found that the applicant was excluded from workers' compensation coverage because he was a corporate officer who signed a valid exclusion letter knowingly and voluntarily, and that the offer of officer status was not a sham to avoid coverage.
From the decision · page 3Petitioner's Contentions: Petitioner contends that the Arbitrator erred by: 1) finding Applicant was excluded from Workers' Compensation coverage because he was an officer of the corporation who had opted out of coverage; 2) finding that Applicant signed a valid Corporate Officers or Directors Exclusion Letter on February 28, 2002; 3) finding that Applicant is bound by the terms of said letter because he had constructive if not actual knowledge of the meaning of said letter; and 4) finding that Applicant's becoming a shareholder and officer of the corporation and his exclusion from Workers' Compensation benefits was not a sham perpetrated by the majority shareholder and president.