Agenda - Council - 12/11/1990 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Case #6 WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIM FOR JAY GUIMONT By: Kay McAIoney, Personnel Coordinator Background: On October 21, 1990 volunteer Fire Fighter Jay Guimont was injured on duty. 'First Report of Injury' and 'Supervisor's Report of Accident' were completed and submitted to the Employee Benefit Administration Company (EBA) to determine workers' compensation benefits in accordance with the requirements of the Department of Labor and Industry. Workers' compensation benefits are not calculated similarly for volunteer fire fighters as for other occupations. On November 4, 1988 the Minnesota Supreme Court, in its Decision in the case of Robert Johr~son. Jr. vs. City of Plainview, provided guidance and clarification on the issue of how to determine "wages" to be used to calculate the compensation rate payable to a volunteer fire fighter or his/her dependents. In that case the Minnesota Supreme Court found that work as a volunteer fire fighter for the city, for which the worker was paid an hourly rate for emergency calls attended and a minimal sum for attending departmental training meetings, was performed gratis or without fixed compensation, and the worker was thus entitled to use of imputed wage based upon the usual going wage paid for similar services in municipalities where such services were performed by paid employees, in accordance with state statutes, in computing workers' compensation benefits due to the injury of the worker at the scene of the fire. State statute allows combination of employee's earnings (fire fighter's salary from his/her regular job) only when he/she has been regularly employed by two or more employers. All medical bills are received by the City of Ramsey and forwarded to EBA for payment. EBA has determined the imputed wage for Ramsey fire fighters using the City of Anoka wages as the source. Their current hourly rate for full-time fire fighters is $10.30 per hour for fire fighters with no experience. 40 hours per week at the hourly wage of $10.30 equates to $412.00 per week. Workers' compensation pays 2/3 of the average gross weekly wage making Mr. Guimonts weekly rate of $274.67 ($412 times .66667). Wages received for workers' compensation benefits are not taxed. Mr. Guimont has been receiving workers' compensation twice monthly since his injury, with payments made directly to him. Mr. Guimont has been informed by physicians that he will need approximately 5 months recovery. A meeting was held at Ramsey Municipal Building on November 14, 1990. City Administrator David Hartley, Finance Officer Sandra Ashley, Personnel Coordinator Kay McAIoney, Fire Chief David Griffin and Mr. Guimont were present. The meeting was held to determine how Mr. Guimont felt his claim was being handled. He stated that the medical aspect of it was OK but feels that the workers' compensation weekly wage he is receiving has not been OK. Mr. Guimont is a self-employed Contractor and states that he has no disability or work interruption insurance on his own. Mr. Hartley informed Mr. Guimont that we would need a proposal from him as to what he thinks would be fair compensation and that we would meet when his proposal was complete. During this meeting Mr. Guimont was informed that EBA had requested a copy of his 1989 Federal Income Tax form and Schedule C as he is self-employed. This information would be used to determine disability amounts, if applicable, not the weekly benefit amount. To date EBA nor the City of Ramsey has received the requested information.