In Reiman v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (1977) 66 Cal.App.3d 732, the court refused a credit to Pacific Telephone on the ground that payments from an employee benefit plan were clearly gratuitous in nature. The court noted: "In its formal claim of lien for the 'living expenses' it had paid applicant under its 'Other Benefits' program, the Company explicitly alleged that the payments had been made 'voluntarily.' They were obviously made 'without consideration,' because nothing in the program provides for their reimbursement . . . the Company has alleged throughout the lien proceeding that it did not expect to be reimbursed for them when they were made, the appeals board expressly quoted it to this effect in the 'Opinion And Decision' under review, and Edwin McWain administrative director of the employee benefit plan testified to the same effect without contradiction. According to the undisputed evidence, the payments were therefore 'gifts' from the Company when they were made." ( Id., at p. 740.)