Miller, Harvey

Applicant Harvey Miller, a lineman who sustained industrial injuries to his right knee, left hip, and lumbar spine on February 28, 2019, sought reconsideration of a July 30, 2024 Findings and Order awarding defendant an $8,075.28 credit for an alleged ERISA short-term disability plan overpayment, applied against his 2% permanent disability and future medical treatment. The WCAB granted reconsideration and rescinded the F&O, finding the credit award procedurally and substantively defective: no award of permanent disability, future medical, or attorney's fees actually issued, so there was nothing to which a credit could attach, and the medical record was absent. Critically, the Board found that applicant raised a colorable argument of ERISA preemption—a jurisdictional issue the WCJ failed to address. The Board also dismissed applicant's petition to disqualify the WCJ as skeletal and unsupported by any factual basis. The matter was returned to the trial level for further proceedings, including analysis of whether the credit is preempted by federal ERISA law.