California Labor Code Section 5813 lets a workers’ compensation judge or the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board sanction a party, their attorney, or both for bad-faith litigation tactics or actions taken solely to cause unnecessary delay. Labor Code 5813 sanctions come in two parts: reimbursement of the other side’s reasonable expenses and attorney’s fees, plus a discretionary penalty of up to $2,500 paid to the state’s General Fund.1California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 5813 The WCAB can act on a written petition from the opposing side or raise the issue on its own.
What a Sanctions Order Actually Costs
The $2,500 figure gets most of the attention, but it is the smaller piece. Section 5813 has two separate components, and they work differently.
The first is expense reimbursement. The WCAB can order the offending side to pay the other party’s reasonable expenses caused by the bad-faith conduct, including attorney’s fees and costs.1California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 5813 There is no statutory cap. If a frivolous motion forced opposing counsel to spend 20 hours drafting a response, the reasonable cost of those 20 hours is recoverable. This is where the real financial exposure sits. Fees for months of unnecessary motion practice can run far past the $2,500 figure.
The second is a discretionary penalty of up to $2,500, paid to the General Fund rather than to the other party.1California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 5813 The statute places this within the judge’s “sole discretion,” so a judge can decline to impose it even after finding bad-faith conduct. The statute caps the penalty at $2,500 without specifying whether that limit applies per violation or per proceeding; the text reads only “not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500).”
Conduct That Triggers Sanctions
Section 5813 targets filings and tactics that are frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay. The implementing regulation, Title 8 CCR Section 10421, defines bad faith as conduct resulting from a willful failure to follow a statutory or regulatory obligation, a willful intent to disrupt proceedings, or an improper motive.2Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 Section 10421 – Sanctions It then lists specific categories that qualify:
- Failing to appear or showing up late to a conference or trial without a reasonable excuse, especially as a pattern.
- Filing a pleading, petition, or legal document without any reasonable justification.
- Failing to timely serve required documents such as medical reports when those documents are within the party’s control, absent honest mistake or excusable neglect.
- Refusing to comply with WCAB rules, the Administrative Director’s regulations, or any WCAB order, including discovery orders not currently under review.
- Signing a verification or declaration that contains false statements, substantial misrepresentations, statements made with reckless disregard for the truth, or statements that are technically true but deliberately presented to deceive.
- Asserting a position that is indisputably without merit, pursued primarily to harass, or pursued primarily to increase the other side’s litigation costs.
- Raising legal arguments unsupported by existing law, unless the argument is a good-faith effort to change or extend the law.
- Asserting a legal position that misrepresents what the law actually says.
For most of these categories, the regulation includes a safety valve: sanctions should not apply when the failure results from genuine mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect.2Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 Section 10421 – Sanctions Judges also weigh whether the conduct is a one-off error or part of a pattern. A single missed deadline reads very differently from four consecutive discovery violations by the same attorney.
Who Pays: Party, Attorney, or Both
Section 5813(a) allows the judge to order “a party, the party’s attorney, or both” to pay expenses and sanctions.1California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 5813 The judge decides who actually drove the misconduct. If an attorney filed a frivolous motion on their own initiative, the attorney alone may be on the hook. If the client directed the strategy knowing it had no merit, the client pays. When both share responsibility, the judge can hold them jointly liable.
Insurance carriers appear as parties in workers’ compensation cases, not only through their counsel. A carrier that instructs its attorneys to stonewall discovery or withhold records can face sanctions directly.
Filing a Sanctions Petition
Most sanctions start with a written petition from the opposing side rather than the WCAB raising the issue itself.1California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 5813 The petition follows WCAB Rule 10510. It must include the case title and adjudication case number, identify the relief sought, and be verified under penalty of perjury.3Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 Section 10510 – Petitions and Answers to Petitions It also needs a proof of service showing delivery to all parties. Filing without that proof of service gives the WCAB grounds to dismiss outright.
The substance matters as much as the format. A strong petition documents specific dates and events, explains why the conduct was frivolous or solely intended to delay, and itemizes the expenses incurred as a result. Billing records, correspondence showing missed deadlines, and copies of the offending filings all help. A general complaint that the other side is difficult will not get far. Judges want a timeline that makes the pattern unmistakable.
The Hearing
Before any sanctions can be imposed, the accused party must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard.2Department of Industrial Relations. California Code of Regulations Title 8 Section 10421 – Sanctions This applies whether the sanctions were initiated by petition or by the WCAB on its own. The accused party can file an answer and appear at a hearing to offer a reasonable excuse, show that the conduct rested on a good-faith legal argument, or challenge the claimed expenses as inflated. The judge’s sanctions order should explain what conduct was found sanctionable and how the amounts were calculated.
Challenging a Sanctions Order Against You
A party hit with sanctions has options. Under Labor Code Section 5900, anyone aggrieved by a final order of a workers’ compensation judge can petition the WCAB for reconsideration, specifying what was wrong with the determination.4California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 5900 The WCAB can also grant reconsideration on its own motion within 60 days of the order being filed.
Beyond reconsideration, Labor Code Section 5810 provides that WCAB orders may be reviewed by the courts as specified in Sections 5950 through 5956.5California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 5810 In practice that means a writ of review to the California Court of Appeal. Appellate review of a sanctions order is uncommon given the amounts involved, but the right exists when the decision involves legal error or an abuse of discretion.
Section 5813 Is Not the Delayed-Benefits Penalty
Section 5813 is often confused with Section 5814, which addresses a different problem. Section 5813 targets litigation misconduct such as frivolous motions, discovery abuse, and no-shows. Section 5814 targets payment misconduct by the employer or insurer. Under Section 5814(a), when benefit payments have been unreasonably delayed or refused, the amount owed can be increased by up to 25 percent or $10,000, whichever is less, with a two-year window to bring the claim.6California Legislative Information. California Code Labor Code 5814 The two can overlap: an insurer that both refuses to pay and obstructs the proceedings designed to resolve the dispute can face penalties under both statutes in the same case.