(See also COMMUNICATION OF DEPARTMENT ORDER, PROTEST AND REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION and STATUTES)
Aggrieved party
An employer, other than the one for which the worker was working at the time of the alleged injury, is not an aggrieved party within the meaning of RCW 51.52.060. ....Kenneth Keierleber, 91 5087 (1993)
Assignee as person affected or aggrieved
An assignee of a self-insured employer is not a "person affected" or "other person aggrieved" within the meaning of RCW 51.52.050 unless the Department is clearly put on notice of the assignee's interest in the subject matter of the order before the order's issuance. ....Calvin Keller, Dec'd., 89 4546 (1991) [Editor's Note: The Board's decision was appealed to superior court under Spokane County Cause No. 91-2-01677-6.]
Contents required
To be recognized as a notice of appeal, the written document itself must indicate an intent to appeal and must identify the Department decision or order being challenged. An appeal of an order under one claim cannot be treated as an appeal of an order under another claim, even though the worker testifies that she intended to appeal both orders. ....Lynnette Murray I, 41,887 (1974)
Protest and notice of appeal
A notice of appeal filed only with the Department cannot be treated as a protest and request for reconsideration. The Department's subsequent adherence order is therefore a nullity which does not divest the Board of jurisdiction over the appeal from the original order. ....Thomas Houlihan, 67,414 (1985)
When a firm filed an appeal from an "appealable only" order from which it had already filed with the Department a letter requesting reconsideration within prescribed time limits and the Department had not transmitted the protest to the Board and did not reassume jurisdiction in the later appeal, the Board considered the Department's action an indication of its intent to treat the protest as a notice of appeal. (Citing In re Donzella Gammon, BIIA Dec., 70,041 (1985)). ....Tony Mandrell, 92 2819 (1993)
When the worker files a "protest" with the Department within 60 days of communication of the order despite the fact the formal protest language on the order has been crossed out, and the Department does not transmit the "protest" to the Board until after the appeal period has elapsed, the "protest" should be treated as a timely appeal. ....Donzella Gammon, 70,041 (1985)
Timeliness
Where the notice of appeal filed with the Board was untimely, but the worker had timely filed the same appeal with the Department, the appeal was timely and the Board considered the merits of the appeal. ....George Trangmar, 93 3287 (1994)
If an appeal is not timely, the Board must dismiss the appeal rather than affirm the appealed order. ....Leroy Hauser, 94 4636 (1995)
Where a notice of appeal was delivered to a private express delivery company on the 30th day and the Board received it on the 31st day, the appeal was not timely since delivery to the private delivery agent was not the same as delivery to the U.S. Mail as set forth in RCW 51.48.131. ....Continental Sports Corp., 90 2027 (1991) [Reversed, Continental Sports Corp. v. Department of Labor & Indus., 128 Wn.2d 594 (1996)]
Where the last day for filing an appeal falls on a Sunday, that day is excluded from the computation of the 60 day appeal period. A party has until the next succeeding business day to file the notice of appeal. ....Robert Chandler, 69,784 (1986)
A notice of appeal from a Department order is effectively filed when it is properly posted in the mail on or before the sixtieth day from the date the Department order was communicated to the party. ....Harold Francis, 68,154 (1985)