AVON PRODUCTS INC TRAVELERS PROPERTY CASUAL TY COMPANY OF AMERICA MARIE DE LEON WORKERS’ COMPENSATION APPEALS BOARDSTATE OF CALIFORNIAMARIE DE LEON, Applicant,vs.AVON PRODUCTS, INC.; TRAVELERSPROPERTY CASUAL TY COMPANY OFAMERICA, Defendants.Case No. ADJ6804554(Marina del Rey District Office)OPINION AND ORDERDENYING PETITION FORREMOVAL/DISQUALIFICATION Defendant has filed a petition which it denominates as a “Petition for Removal” (see Lab. Code, § 5310, Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10843) but which is in fact a petition for disqualification (see Lab. Code, § 5311, Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10452). We have considered the allegations of the petition and the contents of the Report and Recommendation on Petition for Removal/Disqualification (Report) of the workers’ compensation administrative law judge (WCJ) with respect thereto. Based on our review of the record, and for the reasons stated in the WCJ’s Report, which we adopt and incorporate, we deny the petition. Preliminarily, WCAB Rule 10452 provides that “In no event shall any … petition [for disqualification] be allowed after the swearing of the first witness.” This provision serves judicial economy because, once a trial is under way and testimony has been taken, it helps prevent the interruption of the proceedings. If the trial judge ultimately issues a final decision adverse to the petitioner after testimony has commenced, the petitioner’s remedy is to raise the assertion of bias or prejudice in a timely petition for reconsideration. Here, the petition was filed on May 13, 2014, but testimony had been taken at trial on March 20, 2014. Therefore, Rule 10452 mandates that the Appeals Board not entertain defendant’s petition for disqualification./ / / , In any event, a party may seek to disqualify a WCJ upon any ground specified in Code of Civil Procedure section 641. (Lab. Code, § 5311; Cal; Code Regs., tit. 8, § 10452.) Among the grounds specified in Code of Civil P
