Committee approves Labor regulation clarifying paid-leave appeals to superior court

The Legislative Regulation Review Committee on Oct. 28 approved proposed regulation 2025-026 from the Department of Labor to amend paid-leave appeal procedures, following a presentation by agency appeals staff and questions from committee members.

Department of Labor appeals director Danielle Inglis and staff attorney Rebecca Smith told the committee the regulation primarily implements a statutory change made in July 2024 that aligns paid-leave appeals more closely with unemployment appeals: the department will now certify the administrative record and file an appeal with superior court on behalf of an appellant rather than requiring the appellant to file directly. "We would not be representing them," Inglis said. "We certify the record to the court on behalf of the appealing party."

The regulation also adds or clarifies several procedural provisions. Agency staff described a new process addressing how the department handles situations when a respondent wishes to take action on an underlying claim while an appeal is pending — the department will suspend processing the appeal while awaiting the underlying claim decision to avoid duplicative, simultaneous processes. The rule adds factors for evaluating "good cause" for untimely motions to reopen or appeals, including a new consideration of whether delay affects the commissioner's ability to determine the validity of an appeal; staff said those factors mirror established unemployment-law provisions and that the department draws on decades of UI case law when applying them.

Representative Fishbein asked whether the new text requires a separate "notice of intent" to appeal before filing; staff explained that notice of intent is treated as the appeal in this specific statutory regime for paid leave and that additional documentation would not be required. Committee members also sought clarity on how pro se litigants could locate precedent; Rebecca Smith pointed to the department's appeals-division library (AdLib), a public, searchable database of court-of-review cases dating to 1983. "We would encourage everybody to visit our website," she said.

The committee voted on a motion to accept the Legislative Commissioners' Office recommendation of approval in whole, with technical corrections. Recorded votes included Representative Carpino (no), Representative Fishbein (no), Representative Claire DiSteitria (no), and an affirmative majority including Senator Gaggar Wilcox, Representative Whitlander, Representative Biggins, Senator Ciccariello, Representative Godfrey, Senator Hartley, Representative McCourty, Senator Austin and Representative Ryan. The motion passed.