Tony Paez — ADJ9053858, ADJ9053853

Applicant Tony Paez, in pro per, sought reconsideration of a July 30, 2021 Findings of Fact in which the WCJ found that defendant San Francisco Chronicle did not violate Labor Code section 132(a). Paez had been terminated ten days before filing his workers' compensation claim and alleged the termination was retaliatory. The WCAB dismissed the petition as untimely because it was received on September 2, 2021, beyond the jurisdictional 25-day deadline of August 24, 2021. The Board noted that even if timely, it would have denied the petition on the merits because applicant could not have been discharged in retaliation for filing a claim that did not yet exist at the time of termination, and applicant had told defendant he was never returning to work. The Board also rejected applicant's argument that Dr. Duncan's AME report constituted new evidence, since that report was already in the record from 2016.