Marsh
Marsh v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board
Opinion
Opinion
Vartabedian, J.
Stanley Marsh (Marsh) petitions this court to review the lawfulness of an opinion of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB). (Lab. Code, § 5950; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 57.) We are called upon to determine the applicability of the new apportionment provisions enacted by the 2004 workers’ compensation reform legislation under Senate Bill No. 899 (Sen. Bill 899) to a decision pending before the WCAB on reconsideration.
After a workers’ compensation judge (WCJ) found Marsh’s employer fully hable for Marsh’s disability award, the WCAB granted reconsideration and ordered a rehearing to consider the applicability of the new apportionment provisions under Sen. Bill 899, enacted as urgency legislation 10 days after the WCJ issued the findings and award. (Stats. 2004, ch. 34, §1.) Agreeing with Kleemann v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (2005) 127 Cal.App.4th 274 [ 25 Cal.Rptr.3d 448 ] (Kleemann), we conclude the apportionment provisions of Sen. Bill 899 must be applied to all cases such as Marsh’s not yet final at the time of the legislative enactment on April 19, 2004, regardless of the earlier dates of injury and any interim decision.