Legal Question in Workers Comp in California
Uninsured Employer-Me
I am an employer who had an employee get injured on the job in 1993. At the time I ''payrolled'' or leased all my employees through a temp agency and this person failed to sign up. Therefore he was not covered by workers comp.
I filed for bankruptcy in 1996 to get around this and the UEF says that the debt in not dischargeable.
Four (4) years ago the UEF send a bill looking to collect. They have not contacted me since.
The amount owed to UEF is way beyond what I will ever be able to pay (over $400K). I have no real property to place a lien on.
My Questions are:
1. How far UEF will
go to collect and what other procedures they may employ.?
2. What legal remedies do I have?
3. If I simply leave the state, do they have any recourse to go after me?''
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Uninsured Employer-Me
The injured worker may have been required, depending on the date of injury, to personally serve you with a Special Notice of Lawsuit (SNOL) at the time the WC claim was filed or there could have been no personal jurisdiction to support a workers comp award against you. Sometimes WC judges make awards without proper jurisdiction. Usually UEF attorneys will contest the issue, but maybe you could get lucky on this point. You would need to obtain a copy of the WC file to see if a SNOL was served, otherwise you could move to have the award set aside on the grounds of lack of personal jurisdiction. Valid UEF debts are indeed nondischargeable in bankruptcy because they are deemed to be governmental "taxes." If there is a legal judgment against you, UEF can theoretically obtain a "sister state judgment" and levy on assets in anothe state. But as a practical matter UEF has limited resources and maybe you will yet escape their collection activities. Again, if I were you I would get a copy of the WC file up to the time of award and have an attorney experienced in UEF WC law review the file to see what (if any) notice was claimed to have been given to you
Statute of Limitations
I belive I recall an Arizona case in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that found a statute of limitations with respect to UEF collection efforts after bankruptcy. Thus while the debt may not be dischargable, the UEF has a limited time in which to seek payment and I recall it was about three years. If I get some time I will look in the old file cabinet if you are interested.
Please note this email is for discussion purposes only and does not provide a specific recommendation or statement on case law.
Statute of Limitations
I belive I recall an Arizona case in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that found a statute of limitations with respect to UEF collection efforts after bankruptcy. Thus while the debt may not be dischargable, the UEF has a limited time in which to seek payment and I recall it was about three years. If I get some time I will look in the old file cabinet if you are interested.
Please note this email is for discussion purposes only and does not provide a specific recommendation or statement on case law.
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