Claimant shows she is eligible for reduced earnings award

A claimant's credible testimony that she has been enrolled full time in community college to retrain herself in a career that is less physically demanding and that she worked part time almost continuously while in school constitutes sufficient evidence that the claimant was attending an accredited educational institution full time to pursue employment within her work restrictions.

Case name: Astor Home for Children, 110 NYWCLR 159 (N.Y.W.C.B. 07/15/10).

Ruling: A New York Workers' Compensation Board panel held that the claimant did not voluntarily reduce her earnings or withdraw from the labor market after she enrolled in college.

What it means: A claimant's credible testimony that she has been enrolled full time in community college to retrain herself in a career that is less physically demanding and that she worked part time almost continuously while in school constitutes sufficient evidence that the claimant was attending an accredited educational institution full time to pursue employment within her work restrictions.

Summary: A board panel held that the claimant did not voluntarily reduce her earnings or withdraw from the labor market after Aug. 1, 2007. The claimant's credible testimony that she has been enrolled full time in community college since August 2007 to retrain herself in computer forensics, as such a career would not be so physically demanding on her back, and that she worked part time almost continuously while in school constituted sufficient evidence that the claimant was attending an accredited educational institution full time to pursue employment within her work restrictions. As for the period from June 4, 2007, to Aug. 1, 2007, the panel noted that the claimant credibly testified that: she went back to work June 4, 2007, at a deli within her medical restrictions; she started school in August 2007; and she worked at the deli until May 5, 2009. Therefore, the claimant was entitled to reduced earnings if she was earning less than her established average weekly wage from June 4, 2007, to Aug. 1, 2007.

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