Opinion ID: 2631069
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: ¶ 1 Enrique Martinez petitioned the Utah Labor Commission (the Commission) for an award of permanent total disability compensation against his former employer, Media-Paymaster Plus (Media). After an administrative law judge (the ALJ) denied his claim and the Commission confirmed the decision, Martinez sought a writ of review from the Utah Court of Appeals. The court of appeals reversed the Commission's order and remanded the matter to the Commission to award Martinez benefits. We granted certiorari to determine (1) whether the court of appeals applied the correct standard of review, and (2) whether the employee or the employer bears the burden of proof when an employee seeks compensation under Utah Code section 34A-2-413(1)(c). ¶ 2 Regarding the first issue, the court of appeals reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard the Commission's determination that Martinez could perform the essential functions of his prior employment, as well as its determination that other work was reasonably available to him. Because we conclude that the court of appeals should have reviewed these determinations under a substantial evidence standard, we remand them to the court of appeals for consideration under the appropriate standard of review. With regard to the second issue, we conclude that an employee seeking an award of permanent total disability bears the burden of proving each of the four elements specified under section 34A-2-413(1)(c).