Opinion ID: 2635822
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Slusher fell and injured his elbow.

Text: Wonderful House Chinese Restaurant, Inc., was incorporated in June 2007 and opened for business in Goodland on December 6, 2007. The restaurant had no employees before December. Alfred Slusher began working at Wonderful House in December. Then on December 26, 2007, while working, Slusher fell and shattered his elbow. Unfortunately, Wonderful House did not have workers compensation insurance coverage on that date. Slusher filed a workers compensation claim. In due course, an administrative law judge ordered Wonderful House to pay Slusher's outstanding medical bills, medical treatment, and temporary total disability compensation. Later, after deciding the restaurant was unable to pay, the Judge ordered the Workers Compensation Fund to pay Slusher the benefits. The Judge ruled Wonderful House was not exempt from workers compensation under K.S.A. 44-505(a)(2) because it was reasonable to assume it would exceed $20,000 in gross annual payroll for nonfamily members in 2008, the next calendar year. (In fact, total payroll for nonfamily members for the first 6 months of 2008 was $11,690.30.) The Fund appealed to the Workers Compensation Board. The Board ruled Wonderful House was exempt from workers compensation under K.S.A. 44-505(a)(3). In the Board's view, the administrative law judge should not have considered the 2008 expected payroll. In its analysis, since Wonderful House had no payroll in 2006 and neither had, nor expected, a total gross payroll of more than $20,000 in the current calendar year, 2007, the restaurant was exempt. Thus, according to the Board, the Workers Compensation Act did not apply to Wonderful House, and the Board reversed the Judge's decision and denied benefits to Slusher. Slusher appeals to this court, arguing the Board's harsh ruling produced an absurd result.