What the panel ordered
The Appeals Board granted the Petition for Removal, rescinded the November 3, 2021 Order converting the hearing to an MSC, and returned the matter to the WCJ for further proceedings. The November 3, 2021 Order was affirmed but amended to clarify how the parties should proceed.
Applicant filed a Petition for Removal of the WCJ's November 3, 2021 Order converting the matter to a mandatory settlement conference (MSC). The WCJ had issued a Report recommending denial of removal. The Appeals Board reviewed the Petition and the WCJ Report and granted removal, amending the Order and returning the matter to the WCJ for further proceedings.
What was disputed, and how it came out
Each issue the panel decided, with the reasoning it gave. An outcome is what this panel did on this record — not a rule, and not a prediction.
The Appeals Board found that the WCJ's Order converting the hearing to an MSC would not cause significant prejudice or irreparable harm and that reconsideration would be an adequate remedy, but granted removal to clarify the procedure and urged expeditious handling of the matter.
From the decision · page 3Removal is an extraordinary remedy rarely exercised by the Appeals Board. (Cortez v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2006) 136 Cal.App.4th 596, 599, fn. 5 [71 Cal.Comp.Cases 155]; Kleemann v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd. (2005) 127 Cal.App.4th 274, 280, fn. 2 [70 Cal.Comp.Cases 133].) The Appeals Board will grant removal only if the petitioner shows that substantial prejudice or irreparable harm will result if removal is not granted. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10955(a); Cortez, supra; Kleemann, supra.) Additionally, the petitioner must demonstrate that reconsideration will not be an adequate remedy if a final decision adverse to the petitioner ultimately issues. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10955(a).) As discussed below, we conclude that the Order will not result in significant prejudice or irreparable harm, and that reconsideration will be an adequate remedy, and that therefore, we will affirm it, except that we will amend it as discussed herein.