Legal Question in Workers Comp in New Hampshire
Full Time Seasonal Employee Hours Cut Due to Injury
Hired as a fulltime seasonal employee on 1/28/06 recieving almost 40 hrs weekly, then on 2/14/06 I sprained my ankle at work, though returned to work on light duty first 2 weeks recieved full 40 hours, now employer has cut my hours to about 22 hrs a week, stating they do not have a fulltime position for someone with light duty restrictions and since I am still only considered fulltime seasonal they do not have to give me a certain number of hour and also workmans comp does not have to pay me for the differance to make it to 40 hours. Though when I was hired I was told by the store manager himself that I would work a full 40 hours a week. What are my legal rights regarding this and though seasonal which I was suppose to becoming into a permanant position right before the injury do they still have the right to cut my hours? Also if I cannot take my medication as prescribed by the workmans comp doctor due to work hours how can I ensure that continuing to work is doing more good than harm?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Full Time Seasonal Employee Hours Cut Due to Injury
Your disability benefit under NH worker's compensation law is 60% of the shortfall between what you can earn now compared to your former �average weekly wage� (�AWW�) before your work injury. Your legal problem now is defining that AWW as high as possible. The statute (RSA 281-A:15) has several different ways to calculate this figure. Read the law and see which calculation helps you the most.
As with any dispute under the worker�s comp law, if you cannot agree with your employer and its insurer, you can ask the state Labor Department to step in and schedule a hearing.
It makes sense to get a legal advocate to help you. An experienced attorney would be able to fight for your rights, and usually charges as a fee only a fraction of what you win.
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