Automatic Heating; And State Compensation Insurance Fund Thomas Messinese WORKERS’ COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARDSTATE OF CALIFORNIATHOMAS MESSINESE, Applicant,Vs.AUTOMATIC HEATING; and STATE COMPENSATION INSURANCE FUND, Defendant(s). Case No. RIV 0055831OPINION AND DECISION AFTER RECONSIDERATION Previously, we granted reconsideration to further study the facts and law in this matter. We now issue our Opinion and Decision After Reconsideration. On January 6, 2004, the workers’ compensation administrative law judge (“WCJ”) issued a Findings and Order relating to an Order/Notice to Withhold Income for Child Support (“earnings assignment order”) issued by the San Bernardino County Department of Child Support Services (“County” or “County Child Support Services”). This earnings assignment order had directed defendant, State Compensation Insurance Fund (“SCIF”): (1) to withhold both $69.00 per month for current child support and $280.00 per month for past due child support from the temporary disability indemnity payable to applicant, Thomas Messinese (“applicant”); and (2) to pay this withheld indemnity to County Child Support Services. 1 In essence, the WCJ’s January 6, 2004 decision determined that, to the extent the County’s earnings assignment order required SCIF to assign $280.00 per month of applicant’s temporary disability indemnity to the County for pre-injury child support arrearages, the order was invalid because the assignment had not been approved by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (“WCAB”) and because the assignment constituted a lien for pre-injury living expenses, in violation of Labor Code section 4903 (c) and (e). The WCJ’s decision 1 Strictly speaking, the earnings assignment order directed SCIF to deduct a total of $349.00 per month from applicant’s “earnings;” however, temporary disability indemnity constitutes “earnings” for purposes of an earnings assignment order for support. (See Family Code, §5206(d).) , f
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