Opinion ID: 3158586
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Petitioner Clement

Text: Mr. Clement injured his left leg while working as a copy clerk in April 2000 and was awarded temporary total disability benefits. In November 2009, his employer issued a notice stating that it would soon stop paying because Mr. Clement‟s temporary total disability benefits payment was subject to a 500-week 3 cap. Mr. Clement filed a motion seeking a declaration that his employer was in default. A DOES Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) concluded that his employer‟s obligation to pay temporary total disability benefits was not subject to the 500-week cap and granted his motion. Nevertheless, the CRB reversed the ALJ‟s order on appeal, finding that “[w]hile the actual language of [§ 32-1505 (b)] is susceptible to alternative constructions, the rationale accompanying [the] amending language makes it clear that the Council intended to limit the payment of temporary total benefits to 500 weeks.” On remand, another ALJ, bound by the CRB‟s interpretation of the statute, concluded that the employer‟s obligation to pay temporary total disability benefits had lawfully ceased in November 2009 and denied Mr. Clement‟s request. The CRB affirmed this subsequent order.