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Bergeson v. City of New London6/22/2004
This appeal requires us to determine whether, pursuant to General Statutes § 31-306 (a) (2) (A) of the Workers' Compensation Act, the second injury fund (fund) is required to reimburse a municipal employer for cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) paid in connection with a claim for benefits under the Heart and Hypertension Act, General Statutes § 7-433c.The defendants, the city of New London (city) and CIRMA Claims and Risk Control Services (CIRMA),appeal from the decision of the workers' compensation review board (board) concluding that the fund was not required to reimburse the city for COLAs paid to the plaintiff, Joyce Bergeson, in connection with her claim arising under § 7-433c. Specifically, the city claims that the board improperly concluded that §§ 7-433c and 31-306 (a) (2) (A) do not require the fund to reimburse the city. The city further contends, in the alternative, that §§ 7-433c and 31-306 (a) (2) (A) violate the federal and state constitutions because they deprive municipal employers of a protected property interest without due process of law. We reject the city's claims and, accordingly, we affirm the decision of the board.
The record reveals the following undisputed facts and procedural history. The plaintiff's husband, Axel Bergeson, while employed as a police officer by the city, suffered a fatal heart attack on June 17, 1995. On November 9, 1995, the plaintiff was awarded survivor's benefits under § 7-433c by the workers' compensation commissioner for the second district (commissioner). Since that time, the city has paid the plaintiff's benefits, including COLAs pursuant to § 31-306 (a) (2) (A), on a without-prejudice basis. On February 6, 2002, the commissioner ordered the fund to reimburse the city for the COLA payments. Specifically, the commissioner concluded that the plain language of § 31-306 (a) (2) (A) "is clear that the und shall reimburse the [city] for any [COLAs] paid as a result of deaths occurring between July 1, 1993 and October 1, 1997."
The fund subsequently appealed to the board, which reversed the decision of the commissioner. Specifically, the board concluded that benefits under § 7-433c are not benefits under the Workers' Compensation Act and, therefore, are not subject to the reimbursement provision of § 31-306 (a) (2) (A). In so concluding, the board relied on McNulty v. Stamford, 37 Conn. App. 835, 845, 657 A.2d 1126 (1995), in which the Appellate Court concluded that an earlier revision of § 31-306 (a) (2) (A) did not require the fund to reimburse municipal employers for COLAs paid in connection with § 7-433c benefits. This appeal followed.
I.
The city first claims that, under § 31-306 (a) (2) (A), it is entitled to reimbursement from the fund for COLA payments made in connection with a claim for benefits under § 7-433c. The fund claims, in response, that it is not required to reimburse municipal employers for COLAs paid in connection with § 7-433c benefits, which are intended as a "special bonus" to paid police officers and firefighters and, accordingly, are not workers' compensation benefits for the purposes of the reimbursement provision in § 31-306 (a) (2) (A). We agree with the fund.
We note, at the outset, that our resolution of this issue revolves around the interrelationship of the Workers' Compensation Act, which is codified in chapter 568 of title 31 of the General Statutes, and § 7-433c, which commonly is known as the Heart and Hypertension Act. Therefore, we begin our analysis with a brief overview of that statutory framework. "The Workers' Compensation Act was enacted to provide compensation for any injury arising out of and in the course of employment, without regard to fault, by imposin
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