What the panel ordered
Petition for Removal and Disqualification is DENIED.
Petition for Removal and Disqualification filed by applicant against the assigned WCJ Stefanie Ashton, seeking disqualification and replacement of the WCJ.
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.
Applicant's Petition for Removal was untimely and failed to demonstrate facts establishing bias or grounds for disqualification of the WCJ.
From the decision · page 5Applicant alleges that this WCJ evidenced bias against her during a telephonic Status Conference conducted on April 13, 2023. Applicant's "Petition for Removal"/Disqualification was not filed until July 28. 2023. Applicant's Petition is untimely. More importantly however, applicant failed to articulate any facts to demonstrate that the undersigned WCJ harbors any bias against her so as to warrant disqualification.
The facts that decided it
What the panel treated as outcome-determinative, and which side it favoured.