Article 3. California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board of California Unemployment Insurance Code >> Division 1. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 3.

(a) There is in the department an Appeals Division consisting of the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and its employees. The appeals board consists of five members. Three members shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to the approval of the Senate. One member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, and one member shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. All of the members of the appeals board shall be attorneys at law admitted to practice in any state of the United States, and shall have, at a minimum, one year of experience in conducting judicial or administrative hearings or five years of experience in the practice of law. Each member of the board shall devote his or her full time to the performance of his or her duties. The chairperson and each member of the board shall receive the annual salary provided for by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 11550) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The Governor shall designate the chairperson of the appeals board from the membership of the appeals board. The person so designated shall hold the office of chairperson at the pleasure of the Governor. The chairperson shall designate a member of the appeals board to act as chairperson in his or her absence.
  (b) The amendments made to this section by the act adding this subdivision shall apply to appointments made on or after January 1, 2013.
  (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the two California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board member positions that are eliminated pursuant to this act be those board member positions that could have been appointed by the Governor, but were not, and that are currently vacant and have been vacant since October 2011.

Each member of the appeals board shall serve for a term of four years and until his successor is appointed and qualifies. The term of office of each member of the board appointed pursuant to the 1967 amendment to this section shall also be for four years; provided, however, that of the two board members first appointed pursuant to such amendments, one shall be appointed for a term which shall expire July 1, 1970, and one for a term which shall expire July 1, 1971. A vacancy shall be filled by the appointing power by appointment for the unexpired term. A vacancy filled by the Governor shall be subject to the approval of the Senate.

All personnel of the Appeals Division shall be appointed, directed and controlled only by the appeals board or its authorized deputies or agents to whom it may delegate such powers. The appeals board shall prepare a budget covering the necessary administrative costs of the Appeals Division. Such budget shall not be subject to change by the director except as agreed to by the appeals board. In the event that agreement cannot be reached, the final decision shall rest with the Governor. The director shall furnish the equipment, supplies, housing and nonpersonal and housekeeping services required by the Appeals Division and shall perform such other mechanics of administration as the appeals board and the director may agree upon.

The appeals board, or the executive officer subject to its direction and control to whom it delegates such responsibility, shall appoint and direct the activities of one or more impartial administrative law judges who shall hear and render a decision in every matter in which a petition is filed with, or an appeal is taken to, an administrative law judge as provided in this division. The compensation of the administrative law judges shall be fixed by the State Personnel Board at a rate comparable to that of other administrative law judges or hearing officers in state service whose duties and responsibilities are comparable, without regard to whether such other positions have membership in the State Bar of California as a prerequisite to appointment. No administrative law judge shall participate in any case in which he is an interested party.

The appeals board shall appoint a chief administrative law judge who shall be a member in good standing of the State Bar of California.

The duties of the chief administrative law judge include:
  (a) Serving as the chief executive of the board in the administration of the activities of administrative law judges and their staffs.
  (b) Maintaining a continuous review of the decisions of administrative law judges from which no appeal is taken to uncover decisions which appear inconsistent with the law, with established judicial decisions, with prior decisions of the board or with each other and recommending such cases to the appeals board for certification to itself for a further hearing.

In any case before it, the appeals board may delegate to any one of its members or to a special examiner or administrative law judge the taking or hearing of evidence. The appeals board and its duly authorized representatives in the performance of its duties under this division shall have the powers of a head of a department as set forth in Sections 11180 to 11191, inclusive, of the Government Code.

All decisions and orders of the Appeals Board shall be in writing.

The chairperson shall assign cases before the board to any two members of the board for consideration and decision. Assignments by the chairperson of members to the cases shall be rotated so as to equalize the workload of the members, but with the composition of the members so assigned being varied and changed to assure that there shall never be a fixed and continuous composition of members. Except as otherwise provided, the decision of the two members assigned the case shall be the decision of the appeals board. In the event that the two members do not concur in the decision, the chairperson or another member of the board designated by the chairperson shall be assigned to the panel and shall resolve the impasse. A case shall be considered and decided by the appeals board acting as a whole at the request of any member of the appeals board. The appeals board shall meet as a whole when the chairperson may direct to consider and pass on any matters that the chairperson may bring before it, and to consider and decide cases that present issues of first impression or that will enable the appeals board to achieve uniformity of decisions by the respective members. The appeals board, acting as a whole, may designate certain of its decisions as precedents. Precedent decisions of the appeals board are subject to Section 11425.60 of the Government Code. The appeals board, acting as a whole, may, on its own motion, reconsider a previously issued decision solely to determine whether or not the decision shall be designated as a precedent decision. Decisions of the appeals board acting as a whole shall be by a majority vote of its members. The director and the appeals board administrative law judges shall be controlled by those precedents except as modified by judicial review. If the appeals board issues decisions other than those designated as precedent decisions, anything incorporated in those decisions shall be physically attached to and be made a part of the decisions. The appeals board may make a reasonable charge as it deems necessary to defray the costs of publication and distribution of its precedent decisions and index of precedent decisions.

If a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction reverses or declares invalid a precedent decision of the appeals board issued under Section 409 or this section, the appeals board, acting as a whole, shall promptly modify the precedent decision to conform in all respects to the judgment of the court. The modified precedent decision shall supersede the prior precedent decision for all purposes. The appeals board shall promptly notify the director, the administrative law judges of the appeals board, and all other subscribers to the precedent decisions, of the modified precedent decision.

Any interested person or organization may bring an action for declaratory relief in the superior court in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure to obtain a judicial declaration as to the validity of any precedent decision of the appeals board issued under Section 409 or 409.1.

A decision of the appeals board is final, except for such action as may be taken by a judicial tribunal as permitted or required by law. A decision of the appeals board is binding on the director with respect to the parties involved in the particular appeal. The director shall have the right to seek judicial review from an appeals board decision irrespective of whether or not he or she appeared or participated in the appeal to the administrative law judge or to the appeals board. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the right of the director, or of any other party except as provided by Sections 1241, 1243, and 5313, to seek judicial review from an appeals board decision shall be exercised not later than six months after the date of the decision of the appeals board or the date on which the decision is designated as a precedent decision, whichever is later. The appeals board shall attach to all of its decisions where a request for review may be taken, an explanation of the party's right to seek such review.

The appeals board, acting as a whole, may promulgate rules or amend or rescind rules pertaining to hearing appeals and other matters falling within its jurisdiction. All these rules, amendments thereto, or repeals thereof, shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(a) The appeals board acting as a whole may, by notice mailed to the director and the parties prior to the mailing of an administrative law judge's decision on an appeal or petition under this division pending before any administrative law judge, on its own motion either:
  (1) Transfer the proceedings to another administrative law judge; or
  (2) Remove the proceedings to itself for review and decision.
  (b) If the appeals board removes any proceedings to itself for review and decision pursuant to this section, the appeals board may order the taking of additional evidence and may affirm, reverse, modify, or set aside any findings or action of the department from which the appeal or petition to the administrative law judge was taken in the proceedings. The appeals board shall promptly notify the department and the parties to the proceedings of its order or decision.

(a) The appeals board acting as a whole may, by notice mailed to the director and the parties not later than 30 days after the mailing of an administrative law judge's decision on an appeal or petition under this division to the administrative law judge, on its own motion either:
  (1) Set aside the decision of the administrative law judge and remand the proceedings to another administrative law judge for review and decision; or
  (2) Remove the proceedings to itself for review and decision.
  (b) If the appeals board removes any proceedings to itself for review and decision pursuant to this section, the appeals board may order the taking of additional evidence and may affirm, reverse, modify or set aside the decision of the administrative law judge. The appeals board shall promptly notify the department and the parties to the proceedings of its order or decision.
  (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, no decision of an administrative law judge under this division shall be final if the appeals board pursuant to this section sets aside such decision or removes the proceedings to itself for review and decision.