ALCAN ALUMINUM CORPORATION V. JACKIE STONE, ET AL.
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RENDERED : JANUARY 22, 2009
TO BE PUBLISHED
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2008-SC-000179-WC
ALLAN ALUMINUM CORPORATION
V
ON APPEAL FROM COURT OF APPEALS
CASE NO . 2007-CA-001677-WC
WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD NO . 04-84315
JACKIE STONE;
HONORABLE LAWRENCE F. SMITH,
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE; AND
WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD
APPELLEES
OPINION OF THE COURT
AFFIRMING
KRS 342 .730(6) permits certain employer-funded disability benefits or
accident and sickness benefits to offset workers' compensation income benefits .
When the claimant became permanently and totally disabled, he elected to
receive benefits under his employer's disability retirement plan because they
were greater than his early retirement benefits would have been . Although an
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) gave the employer a dollar-for-dollar credit
against the awarded income benefits, the Workers' Compensation Board
(Board) held that the offset must be limited to the amount received in excess of
the early retirement benefit. The Court of Appeals affirmed, and we affirm.
KRS 342 .730(6) permits an offset to the extent that the disability retirement
benefit exceeds the retirement benefit for which the worker would have been
eligible because only that portion of the benefit is attributable to the disability
covered by Chapter 342 . The balance is based on other criteria .
The claimant sustained a work-related injury in 2002 . His application
for workers' compensation benefits alleged that he was permanently and totally
disabled . Although he attempted to return to work after surgery, his employer
determined ultimately that he qualified for disability retirement .
The company retirement plan did not permit employee contributions.
The employer made all necessary contributions and paid all costs of the plan,
which provided three types of benefits . First, a worker could retire at the
normal retirement age, which was 65, and receive a benefit based on a dollar
amount multiplied by the number of years of service . Second, a worker with
ten or more years' service could retire early, at age 60 or greater, and receive a
discounted benefit . Third, a worker with 10 or more years' service who met the
medical criteria could receive a disability retirement benefit that was calculated
like the normal retirement benefit but not discounted for an age less than 65 .
The claimant elected to receive disability retirement benefits, which were
15% greater than the benefits that he would have received had he elected early
retirement . Thus, the employer asserted in his workers' compensation claim
that KRS 342 .730(6) permitted its payments of disability retirement benefits to
offset its liability for income benefits . The ALJ found the claimant to be
permanently and totally disabled and determined ultimately that the employer
was entitled to a dollar-for-dollar offset for disability retirement benefits. The
Board reversed to the extent that it limited the offset to the amount that the
benefit for disability retirement exceeded the benefit to which the claimant
would have been entitled had he taken early retirement . The Court of Appeals
affirmed, and the employer appeals.
KRS 342 730(6) provides as follows :
All income benefits otherwise payable pursuant to this
chapter shall be offset by payments made under an
exclusively employer-funded disability or sickness and
accident plan which extends income benefits for the
same disability covered by this chapter, except where
the employer-funded plan contains an internal offset
provision for workers' compensation benefits which is
inconsistent with this provision .
The employer emphasizes that the claimant receives benefits under an
exclusively employer-funded disability retirement plan. It asserts that the
Board and the Court of Appeals erred by limiting the offset because KRS
342 .730(6) refers to "[a]11 income benefits" and does not limit the offset to "some
benefits" or "a portion of the benefits" paid for the same disability that Chapter
342 covers . What the argument overlooks is that the employer-funded plan at
issue does not pay a disability benefit but a disability retirement benefit. The
difference is significant under KRS 342 .730(6) .
KRS 342 .730(6) prevents a duplication of the income-replacement
benefits that an employer must pay under Chapter 342 and a private,
exclusively employer-funded disability or sickness and accident plan . I
Although benefits paid under a private, exclusively employer-funded pension or
retirement plan also replace lost income, Chapter 342 does not provide an
offset for such benefits . Thus, KRS 342 .730(6) would not have entitled the
employer to an offset if the claimant had elected to receive early retirement
benefits .
As the Board noted, disability retirement plans are a hybrid, combining
attributes of both a disability plan and a retirement plan . When such a plan is
at issue, KRS 342 .730(6) permits an offset to the extent that the disability
retirement benefit exceeds the retirement benefit for which the worker would
have been eligible because only that portion of the benefit is attributable to the
same disability covered by Chapter 342 . The balance is based on the worker's
years of service and/or other criteria .
The decision of the Court of Appeals is affirmed.
All sitting. All concur.
1 Dravo Lime Co., Inc. v. Eakins , 156 S .W.3d 283 (Ky . 2005).
4
COUNSEL FOR APPELLANT,
ALCAN ALUMINUM CORPORATION :
John C . Morton
Morton Law, LLC
126 N . Main Street
P .O . Box 883
Henderson, Ky 42419-0883
COUNSEL FOR APPELLEE,
JACKIE STONE:
Mary Michele Cecil
Caslin, Cecil 8v Holtrey
P .O . Box 1793
Owensboro, Ky 42302
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