State ex rel. McAtee v. Indus. Comm

In State ex rel. McAtee v. Indus. Comm. (1996), 76 Ohio St.3d 648, 1996 Ohio 297, 670 N.E.2d 234, a case cited by relator, the court, applying Baker, upheld the commission's decision to deny a PTD award on grounds that the claimant's retirement in August 1989 was voluntary. The commission's decision pointed to the claimant's age of 62 years at the time he quit work and that he took a regular retirement rather than a disability retirement from his employer. He also chose to receive Social Security retirement benefits rather than Social Security Disability. The McAtee court states: As for the question of whether McAtee abandoned the entire labor force, the commission's order does not explicitly address that issue. However, the commission relied on all of the evidence in the file and adduced at the hearing, and that evidence can only lead to the conclusion that McAtee abandoned the work force. His early retirement and receipt of Social Security benefits, his application for pension benefits, and his failure to seek other employment following his departure from Chrysler, all demonstrate his intent to leave the labor force. Accordingly, we find that the disposition of the abandonment issue was implicit in the commission's order. Id. at 651.