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Not Showing up to New Post Sinks N.Y. Teacher’s Claim

23 Jun, 2025 Frank Ferreri

                               
Case File

A New York teacher had some challenges with asthma, but were they enough that he could stop coming to work or did he voluntary remove himself from employment? Simply Research subscribers have access to the full text of the decision.

Case

Hurley v. Lawrence School District, No. CV-24-0787 (N.Y. App. Div. 06/18/25)

What Happened

A special education teacher established a claim for workers' compensation benefits based upon causally related asthma in 2018.

The teacher taught virtually from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and when he returned to campus, his doctor advised that, due to his condition, he could not be exposed to dust, mold, and pollen.

Based on this recommendation, the teacher was assigned to teach at a school where he could remain in the same air-conditioned classroom all day and would not have to escort students to other classes or lunch.

However, after four days of work, the teacher informed the school district that dust caused by construction was making him too ill to continue. The district then reassigned him to a different school building, where there was no construction and he could work in an air-conditioned library.

The teacher never acknowledged the reassignment and never reported to work.

Later, the teacher's physician filed a C-27 form alleging a change in the teacher's condition, warranting a reopening of his claim.

A Workers' Compensation Law Judge found that the teacher's claim that he was too ill to work was not supported by medical evidence and that by not reporting to work, the teacher had unreasonably refused a job offer and had voluntarily withdrawn from the labor market.

The Workers' Compensation Board affirmed, prompting the teacher to appeal the case to court.

Rule of Law

Whether a claimant has voluntarily withdrawn from the labor market is an issue of fact for the Board to resolve, and its resolution of that issue will not be disturbed if supported by substantial evidence in the record.

What Appellate Division Said

Appellate Division concluded that substantial evidence supported the Board's decision that the teacher voluntarily removed himself from the labor market by not attempting to work in the library.

The teacher testified that he did not report to the library assignment because was told not to by his doctors. One of his doctors testified that he did not do objective functional testing to determine if the teacher could return to work and indicated that he had reviewed the teacher's medical records and did not see reports of objective testing of the teacher's limitations. This doctor also indicated that his report that the teacher couldn't return to work was based on the teachers "subjective feeling" that he was unable to work.

Additionally, a pulmonologist who examined the teacher concluded that the teacher's disability was mild so long as the teacher wasn't exposed to mold at the workplace.

Thus, Appellate Division affirmed the Board's ruling.

Takeaway

An employee's subjective feeling that he can't work likely won't be enough to demonstrate that he didn't leave the workforce voluntarily.

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    About The Author

    • Frank Ferreri

      Frank Ferreri, M.A., J.D. covers workers' compensation legal issues. He has published books, articles, and other material on multiple areas of employment, insurance, and disability law. Frank received his master's degree from the University of South Florida and juris doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Frank encourages everyone to consider helping out the Kind Souls Foundation and Kids' Chance of America.

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