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Credit for leave paid by employer in workers? compensation benefit claim

Credit for leave paid by employer in workers? compensation benefit claim
Knoll v Chemung County, 44 A.D.3d 1190

Edward Knoll, an employee of Chemung County, injured his back while removing road signs from a truck. He was disabled and used his accrued sick leave and vacation time in order to remain on the payroll while he was absent from work.

Chemung County subsequently requested the Workers? Compensation Board to reimburse it for the payments it made to Knoll during his ?injury-related? absence from work.

A Workers? Compensation Law Judge made awards for the periods that Knoll was absent from work as a result of his injury and ordered that the awards be paid directly to the County as reimbursement for its payment of Knoll?s wages during the period of disability.

The County then credited Knoll with 130.75 hours of sick leave and vacation time, an amount equal to the ?cash value? of the compensation awards, explaining that ?[t]he amount of time being reimbursed is not as great as the actual time off because the compensation rate is lower than the regular wage rate.?

Knoll objected and the Workers? Compensation Board said that the County had to ?fully restore? his leave credits ? a total of 277.5 hours of credit. The County challenged the Board?s ruling.

The Appellate Division ruled that ?Where, as here, an employer advances wages during a period of disability, the employer is entitled to reimbursement of such advancements from workers? compensation benefits.?

Citing Jefferson v Bronx Psychiatric Ctr., 55 NY2d 69, the Appellate said that the Court of Appeals has it clear that such types of reimbursement must not produce a disproportionate result in favor of either the employer or the employee.

In Jefferson, a collective bargaining agreement provided that where an employee claimed workers? compensation benefits, the first 10 days of his or her absence were to be charged against the employee?s accrued sick leave credits, which credits were not to be restored.

The Court of Appeals held that Bronx Psychiatric was not entitled to reimbursement for the first 10 days of the wages it paid to the employee because reimbursement for such advancement would, in effect, provide it with a double recovery.

Applying the Jefferson rationale to Knoll?s situation, the Appellate Division ruled that if Knoll was provided with the full restoration of his accrued sick leave and vacation time, he would receive a windfall not contemplated by the Workers? Compensation Law -- the same type of disproportionate result that the Court of Appeals rejected.

Accordingly, said the court, the determination must be reversed and remitted the case to the Board for further proceedings.

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on May 07, 2008 (boomark / email).