LOIS Partner Christian Sison Prevails on Labor Market Attachment

Lois Law Firm attorney Christian Sison recently secured a favorable result for a client before the New York Workers’ Compensation Board on the issue of labor market attachment. After multiple doctors testified to the claimant’s temporary degree of disability, Christian successfully argued that the claimant could return to light duty work. The Law Judge directed the claimant to produce evidence of work search, and Christian duly requested to cross-examine the claimant on these alleged efforts.

At trial, the claimant admitted that he sought employment for positions that required heavy manual labor. The Law Judge rejected arguments that the work search was not made in good faith, as the job duties were in excess of the claimant’s adjudicated disability. However, Christian appealed to the Board Panel. The resulting Decision overturned the Law Judge, confirming our client’s right to suspend benefits.

Specifically, the Board Panel found that the claimant “made a cursory effort to seek employment.” The Panel also noted that the record “contain[ed] no evidence that the jobs the claimant sought were within his restrictions.” Therefore, this claimant was not entitled to any awards after being found fit to return to work in a light duty capacity.