The Law Offices of Bradford and Barthel has confirmed that the Employment Development Department’s Disability Insurance branch’s representatives will no longer have their own offices at the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board.
The change will take place at the end of June 2026, meaning that as of July 2026 you may not find EDD representatives in their usual spots at your local WCAB.
Your humble blogger decided to investigate after numerous judges and EDD representatives informally warned yours truly and fellow colleagues about EDD’s impending departure. Rumors abounded that the change was prompted by EDD not wanting to lease office space from the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) at the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board.
This heightened concerns for defense attorneys at all firms, because any defense attorney with a bar card can tell you that the current situation is as follows:
- Judges won’t approve settlements until the defense attorney has assured the judge that they have a) talked to EDD, and b) they have either resolved the EDD lien, or defendant has agreed to hold applicant harmless from EDD.
- EDD does not appear at all, or even most mandatory settlement conferences, because there’s too many MSCs and not enough EDD representatives.
- Many EDD representatives do not answer their phones or emails at all. This forces attorneys to call EDD representatives who do pick up the phone for basic EDD payment information. Those representatives are usually unable or unwilling to negotiate the EDD lien, often because they either lack the authority to negotiate or it isn’t located at their venue.
- It’s almost impossible to get EDD representatives at some WCABs to negotiate via phone or email. A few do, but it’s gotten to be very rare.
- Ignoring EDD at the time of settlement, and attempting to litigate it later often results in the WCAB telling defense attorneys that defendants are liable for the entire lien, regardless of the facts. Any arguments to the contrary are met with “you should have resolved EDD at the time of settlement.”
In summary, if a defense attorney has a settlement, and needs to have a meaningful conversation with EDD – going to the WCAB to talk to EDD in-person is the last option to resolve EDD. Now that option is being taken away from us.
CONFIRMATION
Greg Lawson, chief of the EDD’s Public Affairs Branch, confirmed EDD’s departure from their usual offices at the WCAB. He told B&B that the decision stemmed from the state agency’s investigation into how frequently EDD representatives used their offices at the WCAB.
“Many of our State Disability Insurance (DI) representatives have been attending Workers Compensation hearings remotely,” Lawson said via email. “In fact, we found that the DIR leased spaces were not being regularly used which prompted EDD to conduct an operational review of such spaces. With virtual participation in hearings proving to be both efficient and effective, a decision was made to not renew the leased spaces.”
He said EDD informed the DIR of its decision in April. Shortly after, judges were subsequently briefed about the change, and the news entered the rumor mill in April and May.
The main takeaway for judges is that “EDD is to be treated like any other lien claimant.”
And according to Lawson, their intent is to continue to appear virtually, while making some in-person appearances when necessary.
“While we are concentrating our resources on virtual participation, for any proceedings that require in-person reporting, such as the lien trials, DI will continue to attend these in person,” he wrote. “And with a focus on accessibility and efficiency, we are working to streamline our contact center line so it can be managed statewide rather than by specific offices. This should help attorneys and judges connect more easily with our representatives. In the meantime, we found that some boards may not have had an updated phone roster for our various offices, and we have ensured this information is shared with all of the boards.”
We asked Lawson which statewide contact center line he was referring to, and whether that line will be for information-only, or for negotiations too – but did not receive a response before publication time.
DIFFERENT WCABS, DIFFERENT APPROACHES
The future of EDD at your local WCAB will depend on factors unique to your local WCAB. For example, some presiding judges intend to give EDD representatives appearing in-person access to an empty courtroom. That approach means that those EDD representatives will remain available, and are simply moving down the hallway.
Other boards will attempt to find alternative locations, if a courtroom is unavailable.
However, if your local WCAB does not have extra space, then the situation becomes more complicated. It will fall to each presiding judge to do what is the best fit for their WCAB. Not all WCABs are built alike, so what works for one board may not work for another.
WHY IS IT HARD TO GET A HOLD OF EDD?
EDD representatives don’t answer all of their calls or emails because there are too many cases they are pursuing. They are woefully understaffed, and it is indeed a thankless job.
There is no incentive to appear in-person, because EDD representatives do not get any perks or extra pay for appearing in-person. (Perhaps that’s why there have been fewer EDD reps appearing in-person at some WCABs in recent months.)
Some EDD phone lines are “information-only,” and only give out basic EDD information. Why are those reps unable to negotiate? Because negotiating takes time, and it can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to negotiate an EDD lien. These “information-only” representatives don’t have the time to negotiate, even if they wanted to.
Meanwhile, the EDD representatives who do have authority to negotiate are buried up to their necks in cases, because they are so understaffed. (That’s why I have encouraged others to be really kind to EDD reps – it’s not an easy job, by any means.)
AS OF JULY, THERE WILL BE FEWER SETTLEMENTS IF THE CURRENT SITUATION PERSISTS
If EDD representatives do not improve at answering phone calls or emails, then there are going to be fewer settlements.
Defendants aren’t going to hold applicants harmless from EDD and risk being liable for nonindustrial benefits, or overpaying liens. Applicants are not going to want to potentially be on the hook for EDD benefits.
So if the parties have a tentative agreement to settle via Compromise and Release, but EDD is unresponsive – then that settlement is simply going to sit on the shelf until EDD responds. If attorneys cannot find EDD representatives in-person, and EDD isn’t picking up the phone, there’s no ability to resolve EDD.
ONE PROPOSED CHANGE
If the situation does persist, then there needs to be a change in how EDD liens are viewed by the courts. The WCAB should do away with the belief that defendants risk assuming liability for EDD if it’s not resolved at the time of settlement.
Instead, if a defendant has made good-faith efforts to resolve EDD, and EDD has essentially ghosted them – then that EDD lien should be up for dismissal. No other solution is equitable.
Defense attorneys are literally doing whatever they can to talk to EDD, which gets EDD more money back into its coffers in the long run. EDD says it wants our money, but it won’t take our calls most of the time. That hardly meets the definition of negotiating in good faith, especially for an agency that specializes in liens against compensation.
By comparison, the child support services are generally very responsive, even though they too are also woefully understaffed. It’s common for a defense attorney to leave a voicemail for a child support specialist, and to receive a call/email back a few days later that results in meaningful resolution of the lien.
CONCLUSION
We will miss seeing our friends from EDD at the WCABs, and we already have missed being able to talk to them as much as we used to. The situation has been getting worse for quite some time.
If EDD does create a statewide contact line that allows parties to quickly get EDD lien information and has people available to negotiate – then that would be a step in the right direction.
But if the current situation persists – and attorneys cannot reach EDD reps virtually or in-person anymore – then settlements are going to stall indefinitely. That’s an unfortunate situation, and frankly we hope that is not the case.
Got a question about workers’ compensation defense issues or pending legislation? Feel free to contact John P. Kamin. Mr. Kamin is a workers’ compensation defense attorney and partner at Bradford & Barthel’s Woodland Hills location, where he monitors the recent legislative affairs as the firm’s Director of the Editorial Board. Mr. Kamin previously worked as a journalist for WorkCompCentral, where he reported on work-related injuries in all 50 states. Please feel free to contact John at jkamin@bradfordbarthel.com or at (818) 654-0411.
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