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Cochran v. State ex rel. Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division12/29/1999
W.R.A.P. 12.09(b) Certification from the District Court of Laramie County: The Honorable Edward L. Grant, Judge
Appellant John Cochran appeals the denial of permanent partial disability benefits, contending that 80 percent of a pre-injury wage is not a Acomparable wage@ for purposes of Wyo. Stat. Ann. ' 27-14-405(h) (Lexis 1999). Relying on our recent decision in Adams v. State, ex rel. Workers= Safety and Compensation Div., 975 P.2d 17 (Wyo. 1999), we conclude the hearing officer erred in determining that Cochran was earning a comparable wage and, therefore, reverse.
ISSUES
Cochran presents the following issues for review:
1. Did the Office of Administrative Hearings err as a matter of law in determining that Cochran was not eligible for permanent partial disability benefits pursuant to ' 27-14-405(h), W.S. 1977 (1995 Repl.) because he had returned to work earning 80% of his pre-injury wage?
A. Is 80% of a pre-injury wage a Acomparable wage@ for purposes of ' 27-14-405(h), W.S. 1977 (1995 Repl.)?
B. Should fringe benefits be included in comparable wage calculations for purposes of determining entitlement to permanent partial disability benefits?
C. Are the rules and regulations of the Wyoming Workers= Safety and Compensation Division defining a Acomparable wage@ as being 80% or more of pre-injury wages, arbitrary, capricious or in excess of the Division=s authority?
Appellee Workers= Safety and Compensation Division (Division) phrases the issue:
The Employee returned to work at his pre-injury wage. The Employer laid him off eight months later, and he found another job paying eighty percent of his pre-injury wage.
A. Was the denial of permanent partial disability benefits in accordance with law?
FACTS
In April 1996, Cochran injured his left hand in a table saw accident while working as a carpenter for the Reiman Corporation (Reiman). Following his injury, Cochran returned to work doing light duty, earning his previous wage of ten dollars an hour with family health insurance and a pension plan. Approximately six months later, Cochran was released from light duty but retained permanent restrictions instructing him to avoid operating heavy equipment, tasks requiring the use of fine motor skills, or tasks involving excessive repetitive motions. Shortly thereafter, he was laid off when Reiman underwent a reduction in force.
Because his injury caused permanent damage to his left hand, Cochran was unable to return to work as a carpenter. Currently Cochran is employed as a warehouse manager with Arrow Moving and Storage. His present position pays eight dollars an hour and provides for single health insurance, without a pension plan.
Following an award of 14 percent permanent partial physical impairment, Cochran applied for permanent partial disability benefits. The Division rejected Cochran=s request, stating that since he had returned to work earning a wage comparable to his pre-injury wage, he was not entitled to benefits. Cochran objected, and the matter was referred for a contested case hearing. At the hearing, the parties stipulated that the only contested issue was whether Cochran is, Abecause of the injury, unable to return to employment at a comparable or higher wage than the wage was earning at the time of injury.@ Wyo. Stat. Ann. ' 27-14- 405(h)(i).
In February 1998, the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) held a hearing and ultimately denied Cochran=s request for benefits, stating that Cochran was ineligible since he returned to work earning 80 percent of his pre-injury wage, a comparable amount.
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