Labor Commissioner: financially disabled persons: representation.

Existing law provides that the Labor Commissioner may, upon request, represent a claimant who is financially unable to represent themselves in a hearing where an employer is appealing an order of the commissioner. Existing law also provides that if the claimant is attempting to uphold the amount awarded by the commissioner and is not objecting to any part of the final order, the commissioner is required to represent the claimant. This bill would extend the authority of the commissioner to also represent a claimant who is financially unable to represent themselves in a hearing where a court order has compelled arbitration to determine the claim and the commissioner has determined that the claim has merit. The bill would also require that a petition to compel arbitration pursuant to specified statutes be served on the Labor Commissioner.