Postal Worker’s Rejection of RTW Plan Costs Him Workers’ Comp Benefits

A postal worker slipped on ice and injured his back. After he underwent spinal surgery, his employer developed a return to work plan. But the worker had since moved and the plan would require him to drive to a mail sorting facility, which he claimed would cause him pain. So he refused to participate in the plan. The workers’ comp board cut off his benefits. The court upheld this decision, concluding that the employer had made a reasonable attempt to accommodate the worker. And there was no medical reason the worker couldn’t follow the RTW plan [Sanford v. New Brunswick (Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission), [2012] N.B.J. No. 362, Oct. 18, 2012].