JOSE TORRES Applicant
v.
RP'S PASTA COMPANY Employer
Claim No. 2015-027890
Wisconsin Workers Compensation
State of Wisconsin Labor And Industry Review Commission
November 30, 2018
WORKER’S COMPENSATION DECISION
Georgia E. Maxwell, Chairperson
Interlocutory
Order
The
commission modifies, and as modified, affirms the decision of
the administrative law judge issued in this matter on
September 8, 2017. Accordingly, within 30 days from this date
the employer shall pay to the applicant the sum of Twelve
Thousand Seven Hundred Seventy-Three dollars and Sixty-Four
cents ($12,773.64); and to applicant’s attorney, Aaron
N. Halstead, the sum of Three Thousand One Hundred
Ninety-Three dollars and Forty-One cents ($3,193.41).
Jurisdiction
is reserved with respect to the possibility of additional
lost wages, up to the maximum of an additional Seventeen
Thousand One Hundred Sixteen dollars and Thirty-Nine cents
($17,116.39), that may become due for violation of Wis. Stat.
§ 102.35(3), but that as of the hearing date were not
due.
By the
Commission:
Laurie
R. McCallum, Commissioner
David
B. Falstad, Commissioner
Appeal
Rights: See the yellow enclosure for the time limit
and procedures for obtaining judicial review of this
decision. If you seek judicial review, you must name the
following as defendants in the summons and complaint: the
Labor and Industry Review Commission, and all other parties
in the caption of this decision or order (the boxed section
above). Appeal rights and answers to frequently asked
questions about appealing a worker’s compensation
decision to circuit court are also available on the
commission’s website, http://lirc.wisconsin.gov.
Procedural
Posture
On July
5, 2016, the applicant filed a hearing application claiming
compensation for a right shoulder injury arising out of and
in the course of his employment with the employer. The
employer and its insurer conceded that the injury occurred,
with the date of injury being November 9, 2015. The
application included a claim that the employer unreasonably
refused to rehire the applicant, in violation of Wis. Stat.
§ 102.35(3). A hearing to address the claim of
unreasonable refusal to rehire was held on July 6, 2017,
before an administrative law judge (ALJ) for the Department
of Administration, Division of Hearings and Appeals, Office
of Worker’s Compensation Hearings. Jurisdictional facts
were conceded, including the work injury of November 9, 2015.
On
September 8, 2017, the ALJ issued a decision finding that the
employer had discharged the applicant in violation of Wis.
Stat. § 102.35(3). The employer timely filed a petition
for commission review and briefs were submitted by the
parties. The commission has considered the petition and the
positions of the parties, and has reviewed the evidence
submitted at the hearing. Based on its review, the...
