Claim of Johannesen v. New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development

Appeal from a decision of the Workers’ Compensation Board, filed March 21, 1988.

Claimant was employed as an office assistant by the City of New York when, in 1981, she was assigned to work for the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (hereinafter the employer). The office in which claimant worked consisted of one large room which was crowded with many desks and file cabinets so that the employees worked in very close proximity to one another. According to claimant, she was surrounded by coemployees who smoked cigarettes and many of the file cabinets located near her desk…