Watson v. Wal-Mart Associates
Annotate this CaseThis case arose when doctors all agreed that claimant suffered a permanent partial disability as a result of a 2007 accident. At issue was was whether claimant was a displaced worker under the workers' compensation law. The court held that substantial evidence supported the conclusion that claimant was a displaced worker. Where, as here, claimant applied to at least a dozen jobs that were within his physical restrictions and were actually available, there was no basis to find that the job search was unreasonable. Similarly, if the burden shifted to the employer to establish that there were jobs available within claimant's limitations, a job survey would not automatically satisfy that burden. The employer must establish that the listed jobs actually were "available." If claimant applied for most of the same jobs listed in the employer's survey without success, then the survey alone was insufficient evidence to satisfy the employer's burden. Accordingly, because the Board found otherwise, the court reversed the judgment.
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