Opinion ID: 1536140
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evaluating the Employee's Work Search

Text: [¶ 18] The issue of adequacy of a work search is a mixed question of fact and law. Morse, 2001 ME 142, ¶ 12, 782 A.2d at 773. Findings regarding the actual efforts made by the employee to obtain work are factual. Theriault v. Walsh Constr. Co., 389 A.2d 317, 320 (Me.1978). The evaluation of the reasonableness of those efforts, however, is a mixed question requiring us to examine the reasonableness and legality of the hearing officer's ultimate conclusion, with deference to her relevant expertise. Id. [¶ 19] In the matter before us, the hearing officer made the following findings relevant to Monaghan's work search: [Monaghan] has looked for work and engaged in various typing/computer classes since [the plant closed]. She has not found work. Ms. Monaghan must demonstrate, on a more probable than not basis, that work within her restrictions and consistent with her educational and vocational background is unavailable to her on account of the effects of her work injury if she is to receive 100% partial incapacity benefits. Ms. Monaghan has presented work search evidence in this regard but I find that it fails to carry her burden of proof. While I found Ms. Monaghan to be well-intentioned, I note that the way she went about looking for work was problematic in terms of demonstrating that appropriate work was not available. Many of the places she visited were not hiring. The work search was not targeted to available and appropriate work and thus it is not persuasive evidence on Ms. Monaghan's burden of proof. (Emphasis added.) [¶ 20] Monaghan contends that the hearing officer erred because the evidence in this case, including evidence that she made 147 unsuccessful employer contacts, compels the conclusion that work was unavailable to her in her local community. She proposes that we adopt a bright line test for evaluating the number of inquiries necessary to establish an adequate work search, contending that such a test would simplify the proceedings and would help provide predictability and uniformity. Ultimately, Monaghan suggests that twenty-five inquiries should be deemed adequate as a matter of law. [¶ 21] However, as the diversity of analyses in our opinions illustrates, the inquiry must go deeper than a mere examination of the number of contacts that the employee makes with employers. When evaluating a hearing officer's decision regarding the adequacy of a work search, we have in the past taken a variety of factors into consideration. These factors provide guideposts for the evaluation of whether the employee has made a reasonable exploration of the labor market in her community for the kind of work she is able to perform. Those factors include, but are not limited to: (1) The number of inquiries made or applications submitted by an employee. Bowen v. Maplewood Packing Co., 366 A.2d 1116, 1119 (Me.1976). (2) Whether the search was undertaken in good faith. McIntyre v. Great N. Paper, Inc., 2000 ME 6, ¶ 7, 743 A.2d 744, 747. (3) Whether the search was too restrictive. See Cote v. Osteopathic Hosp. of Me., Inc., 432 A.2d 1301, 1305 (Me.1981). (4) Whether the search was limited solely to employers who were not advertising available positions, or whether the employee also made appropriate use of classified ads or other employment resources in the search. See Ibbitson, 422 A.2d at 1011-12; Bowen, 366 A.2d at 1117-18. (5) Whether the search was targeted to work that the employee is capable of performing. See Cote, 432 A.2d at 1305. (6) Whether the employee over-emphasized work restrictions when applying for jobs. Pelchat v. Portland Box Co., Inc., 155 Me. 226, 231, 153 A.2d 615, 618 (1959). (7) Whether the employee engaged in other efforts to find employment or increase prospects for employment. McIntyre, 2000 ME 6, ¶ 7, 743 A.2d at 747. (8) The employee's personal characteristics such as age, training, education, and work history. Johnson v. Shaw's Distrib. Ctr., 2000 ME 191, ¶ 12, 760 A.2d 1057, 1060. (9) The size of the job market in the employee's geographic area. See Bolduc v. Pioneer Plastics Corp., 302 A.2d 577, 581 (Me.1973). [¶ 22] While all of the factors set forth in this nonexclusive list have been noted in our prior decisions, we restate them here in order to clarify that the hearing officer's task is not to focus on any single aspect of the employee's efforts, but to view the evidence through a broad lens to determine whether the employee's efforts demonstrate that she was unable to find work because (1) no stable market for the kind of work she is able to perform exists in the local community; or (2) if there is such a market, that work is unavailable to the employee due to the persisting effects of the work-related injury. Establishing a bright line beyond which a particular number of contacts would constitute an adequate work search as a matter of law cannot substitute for a thorough evaluation and weighing of the factors bearing on the reasonableness of the work search. [¶ 23] Having rejected Monaghan's call for a bright line rule, we turn now to whether the hearing officer adequately addressed the relevant factors when evaluating Monaghan's work search. The hearing officer considered several appropriate factors. She determined that the search was conducted in good faith, that Monaghan did look for work, and that she had taken computer and typing classes to improve her job prospects. On the other hand, she also found that Monaghan had conducted the work search in a manner that was not targeted to employers who were hiring, and that Monaghan randomly contacted employers instead of targeting the search to advertised, appropriate work. While the hearing officer found that many of the places Monaghan contacted were not hiring, she did not evaluate the extent to which Monaghan may have responded to advertisements or used other resources for finding jobs, in addition to making cold calls. [¶ 24] Other factors may have been a part of the hearing officer's analysis, but are not set forth in the decision. For example, although the hearing officer may have been persuaded by the labor market evidence presented by the employer showing fifty available jobs within Monaghan's restrictions, she did not make any findings with respect to that evidence. In addition, the hearing officer did not expressly consider whether Monaghan's personal characteristics, such as age and experience, had any bearing on her lack of success, whether she properly presented her work restrictions to employers, or whether she focused on jobs that were beyond her physical capabilities. [¶ 25] Because we have not previously addressed the factors to be considered in determining the accuracy of a work search in the detail we have set forth here, and because we are unable to determine what additional facts may have played a part in the hearing officer's decision and how those facts would ultimately have been weighed, we vacate the decision and remand to the hearing officer for reconsideration of the evidence in light of the principles announced in this decision. [4] The entry is: The decision of the Workers' Compensation Board hearing officer is vacated, and the matter remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.