Nay v. Cornerstone Staffing Solutions, et al.

Stewart Poisson

Term Expires 2024

Stewart Poisson is a partner with Poisson, Poisson & Bower, PLLC where she practices law with her brother and father. She practices in the firm’s Wilmington and Wadesboro offices, representing plaintiffs in workers’ compensation and personal injury matters. Stewart has litigated numerous cases before juries and the Industrial Commission and also handles cases before the Supreme Court of North Carolina and the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Stewart received her B.A. from the University of North Carolina in 2001 and received her J.D. with honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 2004. In law school, she was an editor on the North Carolina Law Review and received the William T. Joyner Award for Excellence in Journal Writing.

The North Carolina State Bar certified Stewart as a workers’ compensation specialist in 2009 and recertified her in 2014 and 2019. Stewart served as an advisory member of the North Carolina State Bar Ethics Committee from 2014 to 2020 and currently serves as a member of the State Bar’s Workers’ Compensation Specialization Subcommittee and Authorized Practice Committee.

Stewart presents each year on various topics in the field of workers’ compensation for North Carolina Advocates for Justice CLE programs, is a former Chair of NCAJ’s Workers’ Rights Section and is a former chair of NCAJ’s New Lawyer’s Division. She currently serves on NCAJ’s Executive Committee as the organization’s Diversity & Inclusion Officer; she formerly served on NCAJ’s Board of Governors from 2012 to 2017. She is active on NCAJ’s Legal Affairs Committee and has authored numerous amicus briefs for the organization.

Case Link View Now
Opinion Filed February 11, 2022
Attorney for the Case Kathleen Sumner
Amicus Brief Writers Michael Bertics Stewart Poisson
Court NC Supreme Court
Docket No. 409PA20

Nay v. Cornerstone concerns the proper method for calculating the average weekly wages of employees of temporary employment agencies. The Industrial Commission elected to divide the wages earned over roughly 13 weeks by 52 weeks resulting in a relatively minimal average weekly wage. The NCAJ offered amicus assistance at the Court of Appeals level.

The Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the Industrial Commission and calculated the plaintiff’s average weekly wage by dividing the wages earned by the weeks worked. Defendants filed a petition for discretionary review to the North Carolina Supreme Court which was granted. The NCAJ has also provided amicus assistance at the Supreme Court advocating for the injured workers’ wages to be divided by the actual weeks worked. Given the prevalence of temporary staffing agencies in our work force, the issues presented in this case are critical to preserving the workers compensation safety net for their employees.