MERCED COMMUNITY COLLEGE; JT INTEGRATED SAN RAMON, ROY DETTLING, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARDSTATE OF CALIFORNIAROY DETTLING, Applicant,vs.MERCED COMMUNITY COLLEGE; JT2 INTEGRATED SAN RAMON, Defendants.Case No. ADJ3730512 (FRE 0210105)OPINION AND DECISION AFTER RECONSIDERATION On January 16, 2009, we granted reconsideration in this matter to provide an opportunity to further study the legal and factual issues raised by the petition for reconsideration. Having completed our review, we now issue our Decision After Reconsideration. Defendant, Merced Community College District, permissibly self-insured, filed a petition for reconsideration from the Findings and Award, issued October 27, 2008, in which a workers’ compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) granted applicant, Roy Dettling’s appeal from the Determination of the Rehabilitation Unit, and found applicant to be a Qualified Injured Worker (QIW) due to his September 13, 2000 industrial injury to his back, and awarded retroactive vocational rehabilitation maintenance allowance (VRMA) at the current temporary disability rate, from the date of his retirement on May 27, 2006. Defendant raises several contentions in opposition to the WCJ’s finding regarding applicant’s entitlement to vocational rehabilitation benefits. However, in view of the repeal of Labor Code § 139.5, and the Appeals Board’s recent decision in Weiner v. Ralphs Company (2009) 74 Cal.Comp.Cases 736 (Appeals Board en banc), applicant’s right to any vocational rehabilitation benefits have been terminated. Therefore, as our Decision After Reconsideration, we , shall rescind the WCJ’s determination that applicant is entitled to retroactive VRMA. The Appeals Board recently held in Weiner, supra, that the effect of the Legislature’s repeal of Section 139.5 was to eliminate any right to vocational rehabilitation benefits and services after the date of its repeal in “all pending and non-final vocational
