REMEDIES FOR UNFAIR PRACTICES; REINSTATEMENT; BACKPAY BENEFITS – Back Pay; Interest

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Applying for or receiving retirement benefits does not mean an employee has left the workforce, so long as the employee is otherwise attempting to mitigate losses and willing to return to work. An employee may experience severe economic stress after a wrongful layoff or termination and may have to tap retirement benefits to make ends meet. This does not, by itself, reflect a decision to stop working. Nonetheless, if an employee who begins drawing retirement income also stops mitigation efforts, the latter decision appropriately affects the employee’s backpay award going forward.