DWC Announces Plans for HQ Relocation and Resumption of In-Person Hearings
The Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation has announced that DWC Austin headquarters will move to the Capitol Complex at 1601 Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas in the summer of 2022. The DWC Austin Field Office will move to a different location in the Austin area. The Commissioner also announced that in-person contested case hearings will resume later this summer.
Headquarters and Field Office Move
In Commissioner’s Bulletin No. B-0012-21, the Agency outlined its plans for the upcoming relocation of facilities. The new post office box for all DWC correspondence is:
Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation
P.O. Box 12050
Austin, TX 78711
System participants may begin using this new post office box immediately. DWC does not anticipate any changes to its phone and fax numbers as a result of the move. DWC will also update its letterhead and mailing information on its forms and correspondence over the next year. The Division will issue updates to stakeholders on the progress of these changes and other important information on its DWC Contact Us web page found at www.tdi.texas.gov/wc/dwccontacts.html.
In-Person Contested Case Hearings
The Division suspended live CCH proceedings effective March 16, 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In an April 15, 2021 memo, Commissioner Cassie Brown announced that beginning August 2, 2021, hearings will resume in person with newly installed safety protocols.
The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has been monitoring the latest developments related to COVID-19. Due to increasing vaccine availability and ongoing safety improvements to field offices, DWC has determined that in-person contested case hearings will resume Monday, August 2, 2021.
DWC encourages all system participants to begin preparing for these in-person contested case hearings. In the coming weeks, dockets will begin to reflect this future change. Parties should continue to file and exchange documents electronically.
FOL is fully prepared for the move back to live hearings. We anticipate we will begin receiving set notices for live proceedings beginning in June 2021.
FOLIO
