What the panel ordered
Findings and Order issued on July 7, 2026 by the WCJ affirmed except amended to defer the issue of interest under Labor Code section 5800p. 9
Petition for reconsideration of the Findings and Order issued on July 7, 2026 by the WCJ, granted in part and decision after reconsideration issued on October 9, 2026
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 WCJ and the Appeals Board found no unreasonable delay by defendant in paying attorney fees, thus no penalties or attorney fees were awarded. The issue of interest was deferred for later resolution.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.
The original attorney fee check was issued timely on October 31, 2024, but was returned to sender due to incorrect address.
Favours Defendant prevailed
This showed no unreasonable delay by defendant in issuing payment, supporting denial of penalties.
The replacement check was issued on December 3, 2024, after the original check was returned and stop payment was requested.
Favours Defendant prevailed
The delay was due to postal issues and administrative processing, not defendant's unreasonable delay.
From the decision · page 7They did issue a stop payment on the check dated 10/31/2024, and that stop payment was placed or at least requested on 11/26/2024, as the check had been returned on 11/22/2024 which was a Friday, so the next business day would have been Monday 11/26/2024. The Resolution Manager was off on Monday, so she requested the stop payment on Tuesday. That was Josefina, who came back on Tuesday, and the stop payment request went out on 11/26/2024. Again, they received the notice that the check was returned on 11/22/2024. The replacement check was issued on 12/03/2024, that is when it was put into the system. Her belief is that it then goes out on 12/04/2024. The date on the check itself would be the issue date which was 12/03/2024. Generally, she does not get involved in checking on the status of whether a check is clear after it issues. (Amended Minutes of Hearing pg. 8 lines 6-25).
The rules the panel named
Authorities as the decision cited them, with how this panel applied each one.
Labor Code section 5800
Interest on unpaid payments from date of award under Labor Code section 5800
The issue of interest was deferred because the WCJ did not consider when interest began to accrue and the parties were encouraged to resolve it amicably.
From the decision · page 9At some point, defendant owed the monies and interest began to accrue, and there is nothing in the record to indicate that defendant paid any interest. Since the WCJ did not consider when interest began to accrue, and apparently concluded that it was waived, we will defer the issue. Since the amount is bound to be quite small, the parties are encouraged to resolve the issue amicably without further burdening the scarce resources of the WCAB. Accordingly, we grant the Petition for Reconsideration, amend the F&O to defer the issue of interest under section 5800 (Findings of Fact 2, 4, Order), and otherwise affirm the F&O.
Labor Code section 5814(a)
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