In May 2019, Dr. Duke Ahn, a licensed physician, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor violation of Business and Professions Code section 650 for receiving compensation for patient referrals.

He was placed on three years’ probation, paid $80,114 in restitution and $8,000 to a victim witness fund, and successfully moved for dismissal of the case in August 2020 under Penal Code section 1385, before completing probation.

In August 2022, the Division of Industrial Relations (DIR) suspended Ahn from the workers’ compensation system under Labor Code section 139.21, which mandates suspension for physicians convicted of certain crimes, including fraud related to the workers’ compensation system or patient care.

Ahn challenged the suspension in an administrative hearing, arguing that the dismissal under Penal Code section 1385 nullified his conviction, rendering Labor Code section 139.21 inapplicable. The administrative law judge (ALJ) upheld the suspension, noting that the dismissal did not erase the guilty plea or its factual basis.

Ahn filed a petition for writ of mandate in superior court under Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.5, which was denied on December 6, 2023. The court found that Ahn’s guilty plea constituted a “conviction” under Labor Code section 139.21, subdivision (a)(4)(C), and the dismissal did not exempt him from suspension. Ahn appealed, arguing that the Penal Code section 1385 dismissal meant he was not “convicted” under Labor Code section 139.21.

The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court in the unpublished case of Ahn v. Parisotto – B337936 (September 2025). The Court of Appeal affirmed the suspension, finding it supported by the plain language of Labor Code section 139.21.

The legal issue was whether a dismissal under Penal Code section 1385 negates a guilty plea for the purposes of suspension under Labor Code section 139.21, which defines “convicted” to include a guilty plea accepted by a court.

The Court of Appeal conducted a de novo review, as the issue was purely legal with no disputed facts. Labor Code section 139.21, subdivision (a)(4)(C) explicitly defines “convicted” as including a guilty plea accepted by a court, with no exceptions for subsequent dismissals. The court emphasized that the statute’s plain language does not allow for inserting exceptions not provided by the Legislature.

The court distinguished cases like People v. Barro (2001) and People v. Chavez (2016, 2018), which dealt with criminal sentencing or post-probation dismissal procedures, as inapplicable to the administrative context of Labor Code section 139.21.

The court noted that Labor Code section 139.21, enacted in 2016 and amended in 2018, is a specific, later-enacted statute compared to the general Penal Code section 1385 (enacted 1872). If there were a conflict, the more specific and recent statute would control.

The court concluded that Ahn’s guilty plea, accepted by the court, met the definition of “convicted” under Labor Code section 139.21, and the subsequent dismissal did not negate this. Thus, the DIR’s suspension was legally supported.

Key Takeaway: A guilty plea, once accepted by a court, constitutes a “conviction” under Labor Code section 139.21 for the purpose of suspending a physician from the workers’ compensation system, regardless of a subsequent dismissal under Penal Code section 1385.