Tilford, Brian

Defendant CDCR (adjusted by State Compensation Insurance Fund) sought removal of a November 14, 2023 Order Suspending Action on Proposed Settlement, in which the WCJ refused to act on the parties' Stipulations with Request for Award until the document contained 'wet' or actual signatures. Defendant argued the Order violated Civil Code section 1633.7. The Appeals Board noted that removal is an extraordinary remedy requiring a showing of significant prejudice or irreparable harm, and that the Labor Code and WCAB Rules require settlements to be 'signed' but do not specify manual versus electronic signatures. The Board observed that a WCJ may set a hearing to address concerns about signature validity, just as with settlement adequacy, and referenced the newly enacted AB 2337 (Labor Code sections 110.5 and 3206.5) codifying electronic signatures effective January 1, 2025. Because the parties retained the right to seek a hearing to resolve any signature concerns, the Petition failed to establish significant prejudice or irreparable harm, and removal was denied.