Saint Paul, MN – The Commission on Judicial Selection announced today it is recommending three candidates to Governor Mark Dayton for consideration to fill the current vacancy created upon Judge William R. Pederson’s retirement from the Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals.
- Gary Hall – Hall currently serves as Assistant Commissioner for Safety and Workers’ Compensation for the Department of Labor and Industry. Through his role as Assistant Commissioner, Hall acts as Executive Director of the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council. Previously, he worked as a Workers’ Compensation Judge with the Office of Administrative Hearings. Hall is a member of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section National Conference of Specialized Court Judges and is a Rosetown Playhouse Community Theater volunteer.
- Nancy Olson – Olson serves as a Workers’ Compensation Judge with the Office of Administrative Hearings where she conducts workers’ compensation hearings and issues findings and orders. She previously worked as a state claims attorney with the Department of Labor and Industry where she represented the state of Minnesota in all aspects of workers’ compensation litigation. Olson recently completed Mediation Training through the Minneapolis Conflict Resolution Center and is an avid music performer.
- David Wulff – Wulff is a solo practitioner who has focused his practice on workers’ compensation cases since 1984. He has handled cases at all levels of the workers’ compensation system including several landmark decisions at the Minnesota Supreme Court. Wulff is one of the authors of the MN Workers’ Compensation Deskbook. He is a frequent lecturer on workers’ compensation law for such entities as the MN Association for Justice and the MN Chiropractic Association.
The Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals is an independent agency of Minnesota’s executive branch. It reviews workers’ compensation cases decided by compensation judges at the Office of Administrative Hearings and some cases decided by the Workers’ Compensation Division at the Department of Labor and Industry.
An announcement of the appointment will be made following an interview process over the next few weeks.
Source: MN Governor’s Office