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Andrea Dalessandro
✦ Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law — Certified by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization ✦
Serving injured workers across California. Board-certified specialist; no fee unless we win.
By Eman Yazdchi, Esq. · Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization
In California, Labor Code §5900 sets the six statutory grounds on which an aggrieved party may petition the WCAB en banc for reconsideration of a WCAB judge's final decision. The §5900 California grounds frame every appellate challenge to a WCAB judge's award, order, or decision; the §5903 25-mailed/20-electronic deadline applies to the petition.
California Labor Code §5900 sets the six statutory grounds on which an aggrieved party may petition the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) en banc for reconsideration of a WCAB judge's final award, order, or decision. The §5900 California petition is the first step in California comp appellate review — before any writ of review can be filed in the Court of Appeal, the aggrieved party must exhaust the §5900 California reconsideration process. The §5900 California grounds frame every appellate challenge; the petition must identify which of the six grounds applies and how the WCAB judge's decision implicates that ground.
Under California Labor Code §5900, the six statutory California grounds for reconsideration are: (1) the WCAB judge acted without or in excess of his or her powers; (2) the order, decision, or award was procured by fraud; (3) the evidence does not justify the findings of fact; (4) the petitioner has discovered new evidence material to the case that could not, with reasonable diligence, have been produced at the hearing; (5) the findings of fact do not support the order, decision, or award; or (6) the decision was made under a mistake of law. The §5900 California grounds are exclusive — every reconsideration petition must rest on one or more of these six.
Under California Labor Code §5900 and California Labor Code §5903, the California reconsideration petition must be filed within 25 days of service by mail or 20 days of service electronically of the WCAB judge's final decision. The §5900 California petition is filed with the WCAB and served on all parties; it must identify the six §5900 California grounds relied on, attach a memorandum of points and authorities, and request specific relief. The WCAB receives the §5900 California petition, the WCAB judge prepares a Report and Recommendation, and the WCAB en banc commissioners ultimately decide whether to grant, deny, or modify the underlying decision.
Under California Labor Code §5900, the California new-evidence ground for reconsideration applies when the petitioner has discovered evidence material to the case that could not, with reasonable diligence, have been produced at the WCAB hearing. The §5900 California new-evidence rule is narrow — the petitioner must show both that the evidence is genuinely new and that reasonable diligence would not have uncovered it before the hearing. Common §5900 California new-evidence scenarios include subsequent medical findings, newly discovered employment records, and testimony from witnesses whose existence was not known. The §5900 California rule rejects new evidence that was merely overlooked or unprepared.
Under California Labor Code §5900 (reconsideration), California Labor Code §5950 (writ of review to the Court of Appeal), and the California Supreme Court rules, the California appellate ladder for WCAB decisions runs: (1) the WCAB judge issues a final decision; (2) the aggrieved party files a §5900 California reconsideration petition within the §5903 California 25-mailed / 20-electronic window; (3) the WCAB en banc rules on reconsideration; (4) the aggrieved party files a California Labor Code §5950 California writ of review to the Court of Appeal within 45 days; (5) the California Supreme Court may then review the Court of Appeal decision on petition. The §5900 California step is the gatekeeper to all higher California review.
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Tap to call →Last reviewed by Eman Yazdchi, Esq., May 2026.
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