DWC Announces Return of In-Person Hearings

Release Number: 2021-87
Date: September 1, 2021

The Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) today announced that as of October 1, 2021, in-person hearings will resume at all DWC district offices except Eureka, which is now a completely virtual office, and satellite locations Bishop, Marysville, Chico and Ukiah, which will also remain virtual. In-person hearings will consist of trials, lien trials, expedited hearings and special adjudication unit (SAU) trials only.

Until further notice, DWC will continue to telephonically hear all mandatory settlement conferences, priority conferences, status conferences, SAU conferences, and lien conferences via the individually assigned judges’ conference lines as announced in Newslines issued on April 3, April 28, May 28, August 12 and September 9, 2020.

DWC’s hearing notices will be updated as of September 17, 2021. Thus, there may be a period of time after that date during which notices will state that trials, lien trials, expedited hearings and SAU trials are being heard on the conference lines when they are actually being held in-person. Parties should be aware that although a notice might state that the case is being heard telephonically, if it is one of the types of cases listed above and not at a satellite office, it will be held in the assigned district office.

DWC appreciates the community’s patience during this transition. If a party to a DWC hearing has a question on a specific case, they may contact the DWC call center at (909) 383-4522.

DWC requires all visitors to DWC offices to wear face coverings regardless of vaccination status or county mandates, following recommendation from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

The California Department of Industrial Relations, established in 1927, protects and improves the health, safety, and economic well-being of over 18 million wage earners, and helps their employers comply with state labor laws. DIR is housed within the Labor & Workforce Development Agency