Stipulations vs. Compromise and Release: how California workers’ comp settlements work

California workers’ comp cases settle in one of two ways. Stipulations with Request for Award, called “Stips,” pays permanent disability over time and usually keeps future medical care open. A Compromise and Release, called a “C&R,” pays one lump sum and usually ends the claims administrator’s duty to pay for future care. Neither one is valid until a workers’ compensation judge approves it.

The Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC), the state agency that runs the system, describes the two forms this way in its guidebook for injured workers. Nothing on this page puts a value on any case.

What is a settlement in a California workers’ comp case?

A settlement is an agreement about payments and future medical care between the injured worker and the claims administrator (the insurer or adjusting company that handles the claim). The DWC glossary says settlements must be reviewed by a workers’ compensation judge “to determine whether they are adequate to compensate the injured worker for the injury.”

The guidebook describes the claims administrator offering to settle after the disability is rated, and it says a worker is not required to accept the offers. When there is no agreement, the judge decides the case after a trial. The written decision is called a Findings and Award, and it covers payments and the future medical care that must be provided.

How does Stipulations with Request for Award work?

With Stips, the worker and the claims administrator agree on the facts and ask the judge to issue an award based on them. The DWC form, Stipulations with Request for Award (DWC-WCAB form 10214(a)), states the permanent disability percentage, the weekly rate and the total. It also records whether there is a need for further medical treatment for the injury. Payments then continue every two weeks, the schedule Labor Code 4650(c) sets for disability payments.

The guidebook says the claims administrator usually keeps paying for medical care for the injury “as long as care is needed.” Stips also leave the case open both ways. A worker whose condition gets worse can ask for more benefits, and the claims administrator can ask for less if it improves. Under Labor Code 5410, a claim for “new and further disability” must be brought within five years after the date of injury.

How does a Compromise and Release work?

A C&R, filed on DWC-CA form 10214(c), trades the open parts of the claim for one payment covering the permanent disability not yet paid. When the lump sum also covers the estimated cost of future medical care, the claims administrator stops paying the doctors, and that cost becomes the worker’s. The form reads: “Unless otherwise specified herein, the employer will pay no medical expenses incurred after approval of this agreement.”

A C&R also closes the case on what it settles. DWC Fact Sheet G says that once it is approved, the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB), the state’s workers’ comp court, “loses power to make any further determinations on any of the issues settled.”

The form lists what comes off the top before the balance is paid: permanent disability advances, any temporary disability overpayment, liens, and the attorney’s fee requested. A lien is someone else’s claim on the case. The Employment Development Department (EDD), for example, can file one for state disability benefits it paid during a dispute (Labor Code 4903(f)).

How do Stips and a C&R compare?

They differ most in how the money arrives and what happens to medical care afterward.

	Stipulations with Request for Award	Compromise and Release
DWC form	DWC-WCAB 10214(a)	DWC-CA 10214(c)
Permanent disability	Paid over time at an agreed weekly rate	One lump sum, less advances already paid
Future medical care	Usually stays open	Usually ends at approval unless the form says otherwise
If the condition gets worse	A claim for new and further disability within five years of the injury (LC 5410)	The WCAB has no further power over the issues settled
Judge’s approval	Required	Required

Sources: DWC Guidebook for Injured Workers, Chapter 7 (May 2024); DWC Fact Sheet G (April 2024); DWC forms DWC-WCAB 10214(a) and DWC-CA 10214(c) (rev. 5/2020); Labor Code 5410. All read October 8, 2026.

What happens at the mandatory settlement conference?

The mandatory settlement conference (MSC) is the WCAB hearing built for settlement. Labor Code 5502(d) sets it 10 to 30 days after a party files a declaration of readiness to proceed, the form that asks the WCAB for a hearing. The judge at the MSC has authority to approve a C&R or issue a stipulated award.

If the case does not settle, the judge frames the issues for trial. Each side files a pretrial conference statement listing the disputed issues, its proposed permanent disability rating, its exhibits and its witnesses. Discovery, the pretrial gathering of evidence, closes on the date of the MSC. The trial, called the regular hearing, is to be held within 75 days after the declaration was filed. What happens at the WCAB? covers the hearings themselves.

What does the judge check before approving a settlement?

The judge looks at whether the agreement is adequate and was reached the right way. Labor Code 4061(h)(2) says that when the employee and employer agree to a stipulated award or a compromise and release, the appeals board “shall first determine whether the agreement or commutation is in the best interests of the employee and whether the proper procedures have been followed in determining the permanent disability rating.”

Approval is not automatic. Paragraph 10 of the C&R form says the judge may approve it, or disapprove it and issue a Findings and Award after a hearing. Fact Sheet G adds that no settlement or stipulation is valid unless a workers’ compensation judge or the WCAB has reviewed and approved it.

The DWC’s guidelines for submitting settlement documents list what goes in front of the judge. All medical reports go in, with a full explanation of the basis for the settlement amount, including how permanent disability was determined and copies of any ratings. The papers also address every lien and state each body part specifically rather than as “all body parts.” For a worker who is not fluent in English, the papers must include a statement that the settlement document was read to the worker in his or her native language.

What do people get wrong about Stips and C&Rs?

• “The first offer has to be taken.” The guidebook says a worker does not have to accept the claims administrator’s offers and can negotiate.
• “Signing the papers ends the case.” Nothing is final until a judge approves it.
• “A C&R can be reopened if the injury gets worse.” Once it is approved, the WCAB loses power over the issues settled.
• “Stips means medical care is over.” The claims administrator usually keeps paying for needed care.
• “A penalty for a late payment can still be claimed after settling.” Both settlement forms say they include any accrued claims for Labor Code 5814 penalties (the increase for a payment unreasonably delayed or refused) unless those claims are expressly excluded. Section 5814(c) presumes them resolved once the settlement is approved.
• “A C&R can include the retraining voucher.” For injuries on or after January 1, 2013, Labor Code 4658.7(g) does not allow the supplemental job displacement benefit to be settled. The C&R form says approval does not release it unless the judge expressly orders otherwise.
• “A settlement stays inside workers’ comp.” Paragraph 11 of the C&R form warns that a C&R may affect other benefits, including Social Security, Medicare and long-term disability. Workers’ comp, SDI and Social Security disability covers those programs.

Where does a lawyer fit in a settlement?

Settlement work is mostly paper: the rating, the medical-legal reports behind it, the proposed form, the liens and deductions, and the judge’s review. The Law Office of Jesse Melendrez represents injured workers only, in California workers’ compensation cases.

This page is general information, not advice about any one claim. Whether an offer fits a particular case depends on that case’s records. If an offer or a settlement form is on the table, tell us what happened.

What should I read next?

• The rating every settlement starts from: What is a permanent disability rating and how is it calculated?
• What permanent disability pays and when: permanent disability benefits
• The retraining voucher that stays outside a C&R: the SJDB voucher and the Return-to-Work Supplement
• Where settlements are approved or tried: What happens at the WCAB?
• How attorney fees are set and approved: How much does a workers’ comp lawyer cost in California?