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California ruling blocks Workers' Comp Appeals Board from extending deadlines
The Supreme Court of California said petitions for reconsideration are denied automatically if the board does not act within 60 days, even when the delay is the board's own.
California's Supreme Court ruled that the state Workers' Compensation Appeals Board cannot extend its own 60-day deadline to rule on a petition for reconsideration. The decision, dated August 24, 2026, upholds a lower-court ruling and holds that if the board does not issue a decision within 60 days, the petition is denied automatically regardless of why the board fell behind.
The court focused on the statutory clock for when the board must act. It rejected the board's argument that it could pause the deadline based on a prior 1992 decision, and it said equitable tolling does not apply because the board is not a litigant and the relevant provision is not a statute of limitations but a timing rule for board action.
The dispute began with an injured worker who was awarded total and permanent disability for an injury suffered in December 2013 while working for Ross Valley Sanitation District. The employer filed a timely petition for reconsideration on March 23, 2023, but the board did not grant it until 144 days after filing, later saying it had not received notice of the petition until around June 15, 2023.
The court said allowing the board to toll its own deadline would effectively enable open-ended extensions. It also set a concrete next-step for parties, saying that once 60 days pass without action, the petition is denied by operation of law and the filing party has 45 days to go to the Court of Appeal, with the same timeline marking when an award becomes final, according to Insurance Business.