MINUTES
FOR THE REGULAR MEETING
CALIFORNIA UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE APPEALS BOARD
Docket No. 5721
Open Session
The Appeals Board meeting convened at 11:00 a.m., January 21, 2026, with Chair Michael Allen presiding.
1. Roll Call: Members Present Absent
Michael Allen, Chair x
Laura Kent-Monning, Vice-Chair x
Mike Eng x
Bob Wieckowski x
Richard Roth x
2. Approval of Minutes:
The Board approved the December 10, 2025, Meeting Minutes.
3. Chair's Report:
Since the last meeting, the Board resolved approximately 1,212 cases, all of which were processed through CAMS. Chair Allen discussed the priority of keeping the CUIAB staff safe and thanked the Board and the members of the CUIAB organization for their work and dedication.
4. Board Member Reports:
Vice-Chair Kent-Monning expressed her appreciation for the staff who participated in the recent discussion on the best practices for cases and thanked IT for their assistance with transitioning her to her new laptop computer.
Member Eng thanked CUIAB for the birthday wishes and IT for replacing his laptop.
Member Wieckowski commended staff on the discussion and development of best practices.
Member Roth praised the CUIAB team and noted it was a privilege to serve with the agency.
5. Public Comment:
There was no public comment.
6. Chief ALJ/Executive Director, Michael Cutri Report:
In December, the average daily appeals intake remained consistent with levels over the past two years. Overall inventory slightly increased due to the holidays and leave taken. The average case age rose slightly to 31.6 days and the field closed 25.6% of first-level appeals within 30 days, 80.6% within 45 days. As of November, the national case age average was 176 days.
Since the last Board meeting, CUIAB moved over 1,000 cases between field offices through CAMS. There were no security incidents.
Member Eng inquired about cases reported in the monthly litigation report. Chief Cutri explained that while the report lists claimant and appellant writs, it did not list the infrequent writs filed by the EDD.
Member Wieckowski asked about the current demand for in-person hearings. Chief Cutri reported that less than 1% of claimants request in-person appearance. Regarding video hearings, Chief Cutri advised that CUIAB does not have the capability to do this; however, it is being evaluated and may be an option in the future, particularly in cases where credibility or identities are at issue.
7. Supervising ALJ for Appellate Operations, Rebecca Bach Report:
In December, 60% of second-level appeals were resolved within 45 days and 73% within 75 days. The average case age was 39.7 days, significantly ahead of the national average.
Vice-Chair Kent-Monning asked whether Supervising Judge Bach anticipated meeting the DOL timelapse guidelines by the end of the DOL year in March.
Supervising Judge Bach confirmed that CUIAB is currently on schedule to meet this target.
Member Eng and Chair Allen thanked SJ Bach for her ongoing assistance.
8. Chief Information Officer, John Caampued Report:
Chief Information Officer Caampued reported that migrating the Office of Tax Petitions to CAMS remains IT’s top priority. He anticipates completion occurring in the second quarter of 2026. IT continues to work on CAMS enhancements and modernizing technology platforms.
Chair Allen thanked CUIAB’s IT and asked about progress on the extensive list of CAMS enhancements. CIO Caampued advised that while the transition of the Office of Tax Petitions in CAMS remains IT’s top priority, work on the enhancements is ongoing and can be reported in future sessions.
Vice-Chair Kent-Monning and Member Eng thanked CIO Caampued and IT for their work.
9. Chief of Administrative Services, Robert Silva Report:
Chief Silva reported that one new employee joined the Sacramento Office of Appeals with one recruitment pending. While attrition remains low, CUIAB currently employs 114 ALJs across field and appellate operations, down from approximately 150 during the peak pandemic workloads in 2023.
CUIAB conducted its biannual bilingual audit during November and two of the 40 employees participating did not meet the required language use threshold. Management has been advised to redirect work in the requisite languages to these employees to ensure that their bilingual work meets the necessary thresholds for the next audit period.
The annual IT cost report for the California Department of Technology was completed and submitted prior to the February 1 deadline. Chief Silva thanked ISO Sonja Teamer and the IT team for their assistance in preparing this.
Vice-Chair Kent-Monning asked whether CAMS has enhanced opportunities for employees to meet the required bilingual thresholds. Chief Silva confirmed that it did.
Member Eng asked about the assignment of bilingual work for employees who have not met the threshold levels. Chief Silva responded that it continues to be assigned to these employees in order to ensure that language assistance is continued to be provided to parties.
Member Roth asked whether the inability of these employees to meet the bilingual threshold and may have been due to use of outside interpretation service. Chief Silva advised that CUIAB’s demand for the languages at issue--Cambodian and Vietnamese—was comparatively low. CUIAB is working to ensure CUIAB’s internal language resources are prioritized for use before prior outside translation services are engaged.
Closed Session:
There was no closed session.
Adjournment