Nothing in this article shall impair the right of the Attorney General or the Department of Industrial Relations to release by compromise any claims brought under the provisions of this article. No such compromise and release agreement is valid unless it is approved by the appeals board; however, the provisions of Sections 5000 to 5004, inclusive, of this code, shall not apply to such compromise and release agreements.

(Amended by Stats. 1981, Ch. 894, Sec. 8.)