What Is California Labor Code §5813: Sanctions for Bad-Faith Tactics?

The workers’ compensation referee or appeals board may order a party, the party’s attorney, or both, to pay any reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees and costs, incurred by another party as a result of bad-faith actions or tactics that are frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay. In addition, a workers’ compensation referee or the appeals board, in its sole discretion, may order additional sanctions not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) to be transmitted to the General Fund.

What is Labor Code 5813 in a California workers' comp case?

Labor Code 5813 is the general sanctions law: it lets a judge order a party or attorney to pay the other side's costs for acting in bad faith during the case.

Most workers' compensation rules set out benefits. Section 5813 does something different. It is a conduct rule. It gives the workers' compensation judge and the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) a tool for bad behavior during a case. It does not apply just because a party loses on the facts. The judge can order payment of the other side's reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees and costs. The judge can also add a separate sanction, capped at $2,500, that goes to the state's General Fund instead of to either party.

Labor Code 5813 applies to anyone before the WCAB: the injured worker, the employer or insurer, and the attorney or non-attorney representative for either side. It does not target one side only. A worker's attorney can face a sanctions request for a frivolous filing, and an insurance defense attorney can face one for bad-faith delay. The current version of the law applies to applications for adjudication of claim filed on or after January 1, 1994. Lawmakers last amended the section in 1993, and nothing in its history points to a repeal or a sunset date, so it remains current law today.

How does a party actually ask for Labor Code 5813 sanctions?

A party files a verified, served petition, or the judge can raise the issue without any petition at all.

Under the WCAB's own rules of practice, a sanctions request can start two ways. The judge or the Board can raise it on its own motion, or a party can file a petition asking for it. A petition must be verified under penalty of perjury and served on every other party, with proof of service attached. The other side can file a written answer within 10 days of being served, unless the judge sets a different time. Before any sanctions order is issued, the person accused of the conduct, whether a party or an attorney, must receive notice and a real chance to respond. The rule also builds in a safeguard. A judge cannot impose a money sanction if the accused had a reasonable justification, or if a sanction would be unjust given the circumstances.

What counts as bad-faith or frivolous conduct under Labor Code 5813?

The WCAB's regulations list specific examples, from skipping a hearing with no excuse to arguing a position that is indisputably without merit.

Labor Code 5813 does not define bad faith case by case. The Board's own regulations spell out examples instead. Here are six common ones.

• Missing a hearing, or arriving late, with no reasonable excuse.
• Filing a petition or pleading with no reasonable justification.
• Failing to serve documents, such as medical reports, that are already in a party's control.
• Disobeying a Board order, including a discovery order, without excusable neglect.
• Signing a declaration that contains false or materially misleading statements.
• Directing abusive or disrespectful language at the Board or another party.

The same rules protect honest advocacy. Raising an argument to challenge or change an unsettled area of the law is not sanctionable just because it might lose.

What can a party recover, and where does the $2,500 go?

Labor Code 5813 allows two different amounts, and they do not go to the same place.

Labor Code 5813 actually describes two separate remedies. The table below shows the difference.

The first amount compensates whoever was harmed by the bad-faith conduct. The second is a separate penalty, left to the judge's discretion, that is not paid to either party. Neither amount is available unless the judge first finds that the conduct meets the bad-faith, frivolous, or delay-only standard, and gives the accused notice and a chance to respond.

How does Labor Code 5813 connect to other California workers' comp rules?

Section 5813 punishes bad conduct during the case itself. Other sections punish specific outcomes, like a late check or retaliation.

It helps to tell Section 5813 apart from remedies that sound similar. Labor Code section 5814 works differently: it increases a payment that was unreasonably delayed or refused by up to 25 percent, capped at $10,000, and that money goes to the injured worker, not the state. Labor Code section 132a is different again. It protects a worker from being fired, threatened, or discriminated against for filing a claim. A Labor Code 5813 request usually comes up around one proceeding instead. Examples include the Application for Adjudication of Claim that opens a case, or a Mandatory Settlement Conference where one side fails to appear or is not ready.

What should I save if I think the other side is acting in bad faith?

Keep dated copies of everything, since the WCAB looks for a pattern rather than one mistake.

Save every notice, filing, and proof of service, along with its date. Keep copies of medical or medical-legal reports together with proof of when they were actually served on you. Write down missed deadlines, missed hearings, and any discovery order that went ignored. A single late filing rarely leads to a sanction on its own. A documented pattern, or one clearly false statement in a sworn filing, carries far more weight with a judge. If your claim was denied and the handling itself seems unreasonable, start with our guide on what to do after a California workers' comp claim denial. Then ask an attorney whether the facts support a Labor Code 5813 request as well.

If you believe the other side in your California workers' compensation case is using delay tactics, a frivolous filing, or a dishonest declaration, keep your records and ask about your options early. Yazdchi Law P.C. reviews each potential matter individually and does not take on every case. Call (661) 273-1780 or use the contact form to describe what happened and when.