§23-1-1h. Powers and duties of Office of Judges transferred to Board of Review; definition of certain terms effective July 1, 2022.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, with regard to an objection, protest, or any other decision issued after June 30, 2022, all powers and duties of the Workers’ Compensation Office of Judges, as provided in this chapter, shall be transferred to the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals has exclusive appellate jurisdiction over the following matters:

(1) Decisions or orders issued by the Office of Judges after June 30, 2022, and prior to its termination; and

(2) Decisions of the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review, issued after June 30, 2022, as provided in §23-5-8a and §51-11-1 et seq. of this code.

(c) Unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning, effective July 1, 2022, the following terms shall have the following meanings for the purposes of this chapter, except when used in §23-5-1 et seq. of this code:

(1) “Administrative law judge” means a member of the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review, or a hearing examiner designated by the Board of Review as authorized in §23-5-1 et seq. of this code;

(2) “Office of judges” means the “Workers’ Compensation Board of Review”; and

(3) “Workers’ Compensation Board of Review” or “Board of Review” when used in reference to an appeal of a Board of Review decision, means the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals, created by §51-11-1 et seq. of this code.