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McIntosh v. Sedgwick County6/11/2004
Reversed and remanded.
Sedgwick County (County) appeals the decision of the Workers Compensation Appeals Board (Board) affirming the administrative law judge's conclusion that the County is not entitled to an offset for social security retirement benefits pursuant to K.S.A. 44-501(h).
Willie McIntosh worked as a security officer for Sedgwick County. In the spring of 1999, at about the time of his 65th birthday, McIntosh began receiving social security retirement benefits of $973 per month; but he continued to work full-time for the County. He planned to retire effective August 1, 1999. However, in June 1999, he suffered an on-the-job injury for which he made a workers compensation claim.
The administrative law judge concluded that McIntosh was entitled to an award of permanent and total disability and that the County was not entitled to an offset for social security retirement benefits pursuant to K.S.A. 44-501(h). The Board affirmed the award, concluding that Dickens v. Pizza Co., 266 Kan. 1066, 974 P.2d 601 (1999), renders K.S.A. 44-501(h) inapplicable in this case. The County appeals, arguing that Dickens is distinguishable and that it is entitled to an offset for the social security retirement benefits McIntosh receives. We conclude that the offset provisions of K.S.A 44-501(h) apply and, accordingly, reverse the Board's decision and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
We have unlimited review of decisions of the Workers Compensation Appeals Board involving the interpretation of statutory provisions. While we give deference to the Board's interpretation of the law, we grant relief for erroneous legal interpretations or applications. Pruter v. Larned State Hospital, 271 Kan. 865, 868, 26 P.3d 666 (2001).
The sole issue is the interpretation of K.S.A. 44-501(h), which states:
"If the employee is receiving retirement benefits under the federal social security act or retirement benefits from any other retirement system, program or plan which is provided by the employer against which the claim is being made, any compensation benefit payments which the employee is eligible to receive under the workers compensation act for such claim shall be reduced by the weekly equivalent amount of the total amount of all such retirement benefits, less any portion of any such retirement benefit, other than retirement benefits under the federal social security act, that is attributable to payments or contributions made by the employee, but in no event shall the workers compensation benefit be less than the workers compensation benefit payable for the employee's percentage of functional impairment."
In interpreting a statute, we must determine legislative intent whenever possible. To accomplish this, a brief historical overview will be helpful. K.S.A. 44-501(h) was preceded by K.S.A. 1974 Supp. 44-510f(c), which was enacted in 1974 as part of a comprehensive revision of the workmen's compensation laws. It provided:
"An employee shall not be entitled to compensation benefits for permanent total disability, temporary total disability or partial disability, under the workmen's compensation act, from and after the date when he shall receive federal old age social security benefits, reduced or unreduced."
This statute dealt with the duplication that arises from receiving workers compensation benefits and social security retirement benefits. A companion provision, found in K.S.A. 1974 Supp. 44-510b(j) and enacted at the same time, dealt with the duplication of benefits in instances when a decedent's surviving dependents received social security death benefits while also receiving worke
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