Senate Labor Committee recommends confirmation of four judges to Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals after court overview

The Senate Labor Committee recommended to the full Senate the confirmation of Chief Judge Patricia J. Millen and judges Deborah K. Sundquist, Thomas J. Christiansen and Catherine H. Carlson to the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) after the judges introduced themselves and Chief Judge Millen provided an overview of the court's history, jurisdiction and funding. The committee recorded the motion as carrying unanimously.

The WCCA, created by legislation identified in the record as 175 a in 1981, sits at the appellate level for Minnesota workers' compensation disputes. Chief Judge Millen told the committee the court has five judges who sit in different panels and has statewide jurisdiction to hear direct appeals from the Department of Labor and Industry, the Office of Administrative Hearings and arbitration proceedings. The court also has original jurisdiction to hear petitions to vacate settlement agreements. The WCCA’s operating budget, Millen said, is funded entirely from the workers' compensation fund and receives no general-fund or revolving-fund appropriations.

Nut graf: The confirmations follow a…