California Supreme Court Watch

#24-234 Mayor v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd., S287261.  (A169465; 104 Cal.App.5th 713, mod. 104 Cal.App.5th 1297; Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board; ADJ10036954.)  Petition for review after the Court of Appeal granted a petition for peremptory writ of mandate in a Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board proceeding.  This case presents the following issues:  (1) May the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board apply equitable tolling to act upon a petition for reconsideration beyond the 60-day period provided in Labor Code section 5909, when the Appeals Board did not receive the petition for reconsideration until after the 60-day period has elapsed?  (2) Did the Court of Appeal act in excess of its jurisdiction in granting relief under traditional mandate (Code Civ. Proc., § 1085), where petitioner did not file a timely petition for writ of review pursuant to Labor Code section 5909?

Petition for review granted; issues limited: 12/11/2024

Case fully briefed: 4/01/2025

Supplemental brief filed: 3/13/2026

Cause argued and submitted: 6/02/2026

Opinion filed: judgment affirmed: 8/24/2026

See the Court of Appeal Opinion.

See the Petition for Review.

See the Oral Argument.

See the California Supreme Court Opinion.  (Mayor v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (2026) __ Cal.5th __.)

“We agree with the Court of Appeal that the deadline in former section 5909 is mandatory and that the Appeals Board may not equitably toll its own deadline to act. Tolling operates to allow litigants to pursue claims outside of an applicable statute of limitations when certain equitable considerations are present. It does not apply to the Appeals Board’s own deadline to act. While there may be some narrow circumstances in which due process considerations could permit the Appeals Board to act outside of the 60-day deadline, Ross Valley has not asserted that its due process rights were violated, and the Board’s automatic tolling of its own deadline is not the appropriate mechanism to resolve such concerns. We therefore affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal granting Mayor’s petition for writ of mandate.”

Justice Evans authored the opinion of the Court, in which Chief Justice Guerrero and Justices Corrigan, Liu, Kruger, Groban, and Kim* concurred.

In the news: Kimber Cooley, Workers’ Compensation Board May Not ‘Toll’ Own Deadline, Metropolitan News-Enterprise (Aug. 25, 2026).