Langham: The OJCC Today

Wednesday, December 13, 2023 | 0

The 2022-23 Florida OJCC Annual Report is likely the most introspective annual review in the world of workers' compensation adjudication.

Judge David Langham

It is a broad and deep analysis of where the adjudication process is and what its trajectory has looked like in the last year. The following is excerpted from the report, which is available in its entirety on the OJCC website, along with 23 prior renditions of this exposé. 

In the earliest times, beginning around 1936-37, offices existed only in seven population centers: Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Tallahassee. The next decade brought the addition of only Lakeland. 

In the 1950s, expansion came to Daytona, Ft. Lauderdale, Gainesville and West Palm Beach. 

The 1970s brought offices to Ft. Myers and Melbourne. The additions of Sarasota, Port St. Lucie and Panama City were more recent, in the 1980s and 1990s. Florida has indeed witnessed much evolution and progress in the 88 years since workers’ compensation came to Florida.

In 2021-22, District Lakeland was closed and consolidated into Sarasota and Tampa. District Melbourne was closed and consolidated into Districts Daytona and West Palm Beach. District Port St. Lucie was closed and consolidated into District West Palm Beach. District Gainesville was designated for closure and consolidation into District Jacksonville. 

In 2022-23, District Gainesville was transitioned as planned. District Daytona was consolidated into District Orlando. District Panama City was closed and the caseload was divided between Districts Pensacola and Tallahassee. District Sarasota was consolidated into District St. Petersburg.

Although the chart makes it appear that none of the original locations has closed, the Tallahassee District Office also consolidated into the larger DOAH operation in 2022-23. The security for the Tallahassee office was transferred to the protection of the Administrative Law Judges and staff, and in-person OJCC proceedings have been accommodated in the larger, adjacent, DOAH space. Thus, one might argue over whether six or seven of the original distributed OJCC offices remain. 

Of the offices closed in 2021-22, the longest established was Lakeland, dating to 1941 (81 years). What ultimately became the Gainesville District was established in 1953 (69 years), first in Lake City, then for many years in Trenton. The Melbourne office was established in 1972 (50 years), and Port St. Lucie was established reasonably recently, in 1986 (36 years). 

The offices closed in 2022-23 included Daytona, dating to about 1957 (66 years), Sarasota dating to 1992 (31 years) and Panama City, dating to 1991 (32 years). The opening of these various offices perhaps shows recognition of Florida’s growth in the age of the automobile. The closure of offices over the last two fiscal years is also perhaps demonstrative of evolving technology, the age of information and a return to population centers and regional accessibility.

In the 88 years of workers’ compensation in Florida, the adjudicators have thus been distributed throughout the state. For half that time, until the IRC was abolished in 1979 (44 years), the OJCC was within the quasi-regulatory/appellate structure of the two commissions. From 1979 to 2001 (22 years), it was within the Department of Labor, though there were changes in that department’s status. 

For the most recent 22 years, the OJCC has been a part of DOAH. It is reasonably fair to characterize the OJCC as in its third era. And it is notable that Florida’s organizational structure in this regard is reasonably unique, and its efficiency has been augmented by the structure.

The OJCC today operates offices in the original seven population centers: Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Tallahassee. In addition, Ft. Lauderdale (1950s), West Palm Beach (1950s) and Ft. Myers (1970s) also remain.
The consolidations have been largely accomplished without diminishment of efficiency and customer convenience. There are lawyers, employers and employees who now face travel for hearings. That said, as to final hearings, the parties have a right to insist on proceedings in the county of accident (within Florida). 

Thus, there may be some resulting increase in judge travel or video proceedings to accommodate such requests. The ultimate outcome on convenience and service is difficult to predict, but it appears likely that both efficiency and service will be largely unaffected by the closure/consolidation of the last two fiscal years. 

Unlike the final hearing, there is no county mandate regarding mediation. The OJCC has streamlined the mediation process in recognition of the consumer’s preferences. The ability to effectively mediate telephonically was shown in the necessity of the pandemic of 2020. When that urgency subsided, the lawyers and parties resisted returning to district offices for in-person mediation. 

The transition of OJCC mediation to video (Zoom) has accommodated the community, and this has softened the effect of the closures and consolidations. The process now defaults to an internet-videoconferencing paradigm (Zoom), with in-person mediation remaining an option that must be requested.

There is a high probability that further consolidation will occur. There is a diminishing appreciation for in-person proceedings generally. Some view the primary role of the OJCC as customer service, and others see nothing but accounting, budgeting and opportunities for decreased spending.

The balance between those was long preserved by Section 440.44, Fla. Stat., but with that limitation gone, the office closures are likely to continue. No closures are planned in 2023-24, but the likelihood persists in coming years.

David Langham is deputy chief judge of the Florida Office of Judges of Compensation Claims. This column is reprinted, with his permission, from his Florida Workers' Comp Adjudication blog.