LOIS Suspends Benefits for No Attachment, Cites Claimant’s Smart Phone Usage

LOIS Associate Natalie Caron and Paralegal Andrew Minchella secured a labor market attachment win in a New York Workers’ Compensation case against a Claimant who was directed to produce job search proofs. At trial, Attorney Caron cross-examined the Claimant, who testified that she had been looking for work for four months, but alleged that she was unable to continue searching the last two months due to the cold weather and could not commute to in-person opportunities. When Attorney Caron asked why the Claimant did not apply online or via phone, the Claimant testified that she could only look for work in-person as she did not allegedly have a computer or know how to use the phone or computer. Attorney Caron quickly called into question the credibility of the Claimant by pointing out that she had a smart phone and called into the hearing. Following testimony, Attorney Caron argued that not only has the Claimant not given a sufficient excuse as to why she did not submit the directed work searches within 60 days, but she also made false statements on the record, as her prior work search efforts state she applied to multiple jobs via the computer and phone. Based on Attorney Caron’s argument and the Claimant’s failure to submit updated work searches, the Law Judge agreed with Attorney Caron that the Claimant was not attached to the labor market, and ongoing indemnity payments were suspended.