What the panel ordered
Petition for Reconsideration/Removal is denied.
Defendant timely filed a Petition for Reconsideration/Removal of the WCJ's Findings and Order dated November 3, 2023; the petition was not transmitted to the Appeals Board until November 1, 2024, and the Board did not review it until November 7, 2024. The Board considered the petition as one for reconsideration and removal, and denied it.
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 Board found that the petition was timely filed but not transmitted to the Appeals Board due to administrative delay, and applied equitable tolling under Shipley. However, the Board found no significant prejudice or irreparable harm to warrant removal, and denied the petition.
From the decision · page 5Thus, as discussed below, we apply the doctrine of equitable tolling pursuant to Shipley to this case. Here, the WCA issued the Findings and Order on November 3, 2023. Defendant timely filed the Petition on November 28, 2023. According to Events in EAMS, the case was not transmitted to the Appeals Board until November 1, 2024 for reasons that are not entirely clear from the record. Consequently, the Appeals Board did not actually receive notice of and review the Petition until November 7, 2024. Accordingly, the Appeals Board failed to act on the Petition within 60 days, through no fault of the parties. Thus, we apply equitable tolling to conclude that our decision is due 60 days from November 7, 2024, or January 6, 2025.