McKeown v. Paycom Payroll LLC

**McKeown v. Paycom Payroll LLC: Court Orders New Review of Disability Benefits Case** This case involved a worker who was denied disability benefits after working at Paycom Payroll LLC. The worker had applied for benefits, but an administrative law judge (ALJ) rejected the claim. The worker appealed this decision to a higher court. **What the Court Decided:** The court sided with the worker and sent the case back for a new review. The court found that the judge who denied the benefits made significant errors. Specifically, the judge failed to properly consider the worker's job performance reports from Paycom when deciding whether to believe the worker's claims about their disability. Even more concerning, the judge repeated the same mistakes that had been identified in an earlier appeal of this case. **What This Means for Workers:** This ruling reinforces that when reviewing disability claims, judges must thoroughly examine all relevant evidence, including workplace performance records. Workers can take some comfort knowing that if administrative judges don't properly consider important evidence from their employers, higher courts will step in and order a fair review. This case shows the appeals process can work to protect workers' rights to have their disability claims properly evaluated.