Colorado Springs Disposal v. ICAO, 01CA0464 (March 28, 2002): Claimant sustained disabling injuries when the truck he was driving ran off the road. He was cited for careless driving. When claimant returned to work to perform modified duties, he was immediately terminated because the employer determined that he violated a company policy that provided that an employee involved in a driving accident can be terminated. Claimant requested temporary total disability (TTD) benefits from the date of the injury. Colorado Compensation Insurance Authority (CCIA) admitted liability for medical benefits, but denied TTD benefits based on C.R.S. §§ 8-42-103(1)(g) and 8-42-105(4) (termination statutes). The termination statutes provide that "where it is determined that a temporarily disabled employee is responsible for termination of employment, the resulting wage loss shall not be attributable to the on-the-job injury."
The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) determined that claimant was not responsible for his termination as that term is used in the termination statutes and ordered CCIA to pay the TTD benefits. The Industrial Claim Appeals Office (ICAO) affirmed. ICAO held that the term "employment" as used in the termination statutes was ambiguous. ICAO looked at the legislative history and concluded that the termination statutes applied only to the termination of modified employment. ICAO reasoned that because claimant had been fired prior to beginning modified employment, the termination statutes did not apply to this case.
The court of appeals affirmed, but for different reasons. The court held that ICAO's resort to legislative history was unwarranted, because the term "employment" as used in the termination statutes is not ambiguous. The court concluded that the term "employment" encompasses both regular and modified employment. The court determined, however, that the ALJ correctly concluded that the termination statutes were inapplicable when an employer terminates an employee because of the employee's injury or injury-producing conduct. The legislature did not intend to deny temporary disability benefits when an employee was terminated for negligently or even willfully causing a work injury.