What Is 8 CCR §10748: Hearing Continuances?

Requests for continuances are inconsistent with the requirement that workers' compensation proceedings be expeditious and are not favored. Continuances will be granted only upon a clear showing of good cause. Where possible, reassignment pursuant to rule 10346 shall be used to avoid continuances.

What does 8 CCR §10748 say about continuances?

It tells the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) to treat delay as the exception, not the rule, and to grant a continuance only for a clear, good reason.

This rule comes from the board's own rules of practice and procedure, which Labor Code section 5307 lets at least four board members adopt. This card explains that rulemaking power. Section 10748 reaches any hearing under those rules: a status conference, a priority conference, an expedited hearing, a mandatory settlement conference, or a trial. It does not ask you, as the injured worker, to prove good cause unless you are the one asking for more time. It tells the judge how to treat a request from either side.

What counts as good cause for a continuance?

Section 10748 does not list factors on its own; a companion Labor Code section does.

Labor Code section 5502.5 makes the same point for any conference or hearing required by Labor Code section 5502, and names what a workers' compensation judge must weigh: the complexity of the issues, how diligent each side has been, and the prejudice either side would suffer if the continuance is granted or denied. A judge reads your reason against those three questions, not against a fixed checklist.

Does a case ever get more time without a formal continuance?

Sometimes. The rule prefers reassigning the case to a different available judge over pushing the hearing date back.

Section 10748 names reassignment under a separate scheduling rule, 8 CCR 10346, as the preferred fix when the original judge cannot continue with the case, for example due to retirement or another reason the judge is unavailable. That is not a continuance in the sense this rule regulates. Your hearing date can stay in place even though a different judge now has the file. Watch your own hearing notice for who is assigned, since that can change close to the date.

Which hearings does this no-delay policy reach?

Any hearing inside the board's rules of practice and procedure, not only trials.

The priority conference guide on this site already notes that a continuance at that stage is rare because of this rule. The same policy reaches an expedited hearing, where a fast decision matters because medical care or disability pay is on hold, and a status conference, where a judge checks on your case between other hearings. Those pages do not walk through the good-cause standard itself; this page does.

What should you do if you need more time, or the other side is asking for it?

Raise it early, state your actual reason, and expect the judge to weigh it against the other side's position.

If you need a continuance, raise it as soon as the reason arises rather than waiting for the hearing date, and be specific: a missing medical report, a recent change in treatment, or a scheduling conflict you could not avoid. If the other side is asking for one and you want to oppose it, explain in writing or at the hearing how the delay would hurt you, for example a benefit that stays on hold while you wait. Keep a copy of anything you file about it.

How does this connect to the rest of a California workers' comp case?

Scheduling rules and this no-delay policy work together to keep a claim moving toward a decision.

Labor Code section 5502 sets the clock that starts your hearing in the first place, often a settlement conference within 10 to 30 days of a declaration of readiness to proceed and a trial within 75 days if the case does not settle. Section 10748 protects that clock once it is running, so a request for more time does not quietly become the norm.

How does Yazdchi Law help if a continuance is affecting your case?

Yazdchi Law P.C. reviews whether a requested delay, or a denied one, is actually slowing down your benefits, from its office in Palmdale.

Call (661) 273-1780 or use the contact form for a free consultation. Bring your hearing notice and any paperwork about the continuance request, including who asked for it and why. The firm reviews each workers' compensation matter on its own facts before deciding whether to take it on.