The Division of Workers’ Compensation and Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board have revised their Policy and Procedural Manual (PPM) and posted it on the WCAB website.

The PPM is an internal employee guide, prepared under the authority of the administrative director of DWC and the chair of the WCAB. The manual is designed to promote uniformity and provide direction to judges and other employees in the day-to-day operation of DWC’s district offices and the Appeals Board. It is also a resource for attorneys, claims administrators and other parties wanting information on the rules of court. Because it an internal document, the PPM is not subject to regulations, which require formal rulemaking procedures and public hearings.

The PPM became operative in 2003, with some revisions made in the following years. The 2012-13 revisions, which are effective on March 8, were drafted by a committee consisting of Appeals Board Secretary and Deputy Commissioner Rick Dietrich, DWC Chief Judge Richard Newman, Associate Chief Judges Thomas Clarke, Mark Fudem and Ellen Flynn, and Marina del Rey Presiding Judge Paige Levy, who was the project manager.

DWC monitors the administration of workers’ compensation claims, and provides administrative and judicial services to assist in resolving disputes that arise in connection with claims for workers’ compensation benefits. The WCAB, a seven-member, judicial body appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, exercises all judicial powers vested in it by the Labor Code. Its major functions include review of petitions for reconsideration of decisions by workers’ compensation administrative law judges of the DWC and regulation of the adjudication process by adopting rules of practice and procedure.