Oakland WCAB District Office

Yazdchi Law P.C. is based in Palmdale and has no office at this WCAB location. The firm's attorney, Eman Yazdchi (California State Bar #285231), looks at each California workers' compensation matter on its own facts. Reach the firm at (661) 273-1780 or through the contact form if you have a claim connected to the Oakland office.

Which cases go to the Oakland WCAB office?

Venue follows a state law formula, not simply having an Oakland mailing address.

Labor Code section 5501.5 gives three options for where a workers' compensation case gets filed: the county where the worker was living on the day of filing, the county where the injury happened (or, for a cumulative injury, where the last harmful exposure occurred), or the county where the worker's attorney keeps a main office, if one is involved. A county with more than one appeals board office hosts the case at whichever location fits those facts; a county with none sends the case to the closest qualifying office instead.

DWC's ZIP code locator offers a fast first guess at which office covers a given ZIP code. Its underlying listing assigns 215 ZIP codes to the Oakland office, which reaches these cities with an existing Yazdchi Law guide:

• Alameda
• Antioch
• Berkeley
• Concord
• Fremont
• Hayward
• Oakland
• Pittsburg
• Pleasanton
• Richmond
• San Leandro
• Vallejo
• Walnut Creek

The locator is only a convenience. It does not overrule section 5501.5, and nobody should treat its result as a final answer for one specific claim.

What happens at the Oakland WCAB office?

Judges hold workers' compensation hearings here, and two DWC units based at the office help with ratings and claim questions.

DWC lists a Disability Evaluation Unit and an Information and Assistance Unit inside the Oakland building, along with the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund and the Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund. The Information and Assistance Unit helps an injured worker who does not have a lawyer understand forms and next steps, free of charge. The office also runs a free injured-worker workshop by Zoom at 3 p.m. on the first Friday of each month in English and the third Friday in Spanish.

Can I attend my Oakland hearing by video or phone?

For most conference types, yes, but trials, lien trials, and expedited hearings still happen in person.

Since March 3, 2025, DWC has shifted status conferences, mandatory settlement conferences, priority conferences, and lien conferences from telephone lines to the CourtCall Video Platform. Each judge keeps a separate virtual courtroom, and every courtroom also keeps a phone number for anyone who cannot join by video. DWC keeps trials, lien trials, and expedited hearings in person rather than moving them onto the video platform. Because links and numbers change by judge and hearing date, check DWC's Virtual Courtroom Resources page or your own hearing notice for the current one; do not reuse a number from an earlier hearing.

How do I get to the Oakland office, and is parking available?

The office sits about two blocks from a BART station, and paid lots plus metered street parking surround the building.

DWC says the Oakland City Center/12th Street BART station is about two blocks away; the walk goes up an escalator to Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, past City Hall, to the Elihu Harris State Building. AC Transit and the Broadway Shuttle also serve the area. DWC describes parking lots across from and behind the building, running $12 to $14 a day, plus metered street parking nearby; the official Oakland office page links full driving directions.

What should I bring to my hearing?

Bring your hearing notice and claim number, and allow extra time for building security.

Keep your hearing notice, claim number, and any requested documents together, and allow extra time once you arrive: DWC says every visitor to the Elihu Harris building passes through a metal detector, with belongings screened by x-ray, so weapons and other dangerous items cannot come inside. If you need a disability accommodation, call DWC's accommodation line, 1-866-681-1459, before your hearing date rather than asking when you arrive. If you need an interpreter, Labor Code section 5811 puts the job of arranging one on the party who needs it, and the employer pays the fee, so raise the need with your attorney or the other side well before the hearing instead of waiting until you arrive.

What is the next step for a worker connected to this office?

Confirm the right office from your own paperwork, then decide whether a lawyer should look at your claim.

Start with whatever DWC document you already have. A hearing notice, an Information and Assistance letter, or a claim number says more about your case than any general page can. The directory of every WCAB district office is worth checking if your claim might sit somewhere else, such as a different home address, job site, or attorney's office outside the East Bay. Related local guides cover Oakland, Berkeley, and Fremont.

This WCAB building is not a Yazdchi Law P.C. location, and the firm has no part in anything DWC publishes about it. For a second opinion on a claim connected to this office, call (661) 273-1780 or send details through the contact form. Not every inquiry becomes a case; the firm looks at the specifics before deciding whether it can help.