Moss, Earl

Defendant Kaiser Foundation Health Plan petitioned to disqualify WCJ James Griffin under Labor Code section 5311 and WCAB Rule 10960, alleging the appearance of bias after the I&A Officer presented WCJ Griffin with applicant's revised draft pre-trial conference statement (PTCS) before that document had been served on defendant. The Board found no actual ex parte contact between the WCJ and the applicant, and recognized that I&A personnel may consult with a WCJ on limited procedural matters. However, because the I&A Officer provided the WCJ with applicant's revised PTCS—a document not previously served on defendant—the Board concluded a reasonable person with knowledge of the facts could entertain doubts about the WCJ's impartiality. Applying the objective standard from Robbins v. Sharp Healthcare, the Board granted the Petition for Disqualification and returned the matter to the Presiding WCJ for reassignment to a judge other than James Griffin.