Opinion ID: 2327204
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The WCA's Two-Tiered Jurisdictional Scheme

Text: The Board's jurisdictional decision that led to the denial of benefits for petitioner in this case rested on its finding that petitioner's injury occurred outside of the District of Columbia because on the date the injury manifested itself, his employment was not in the District. This finding rests on the WCA's current two-tiered jurisdictional, or coverage, scheme. Formerly, employment-related injuries were compensable under the WCA only if the claimant's employment was `principally localized in the District.' King v. District of Columbia Dep't of Employment Servs., 742 A.2d 460, 466 (D.C.1999) (quoting D.C.Code § 36-303). This meant that in some cases, a worker injured on the job in the District would not be covered by the District's workers' compensation laws. Id. In 1991, the Council amended the WCA to expand coverage for injuries occurring within the District's borders. Id. These amendments established the two-tiered jurisdictional scheme that endures to the present day. See D.C.Code § 32-1503(a) (2001). Under the amended Act, the threshold jurisdictional question focuses on the location where the injury occurred, rather than on the location of the employer's principal place of business. King, supra, 742 A.2d at 466 (citing COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, REPORT ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WORKERS' COMPENSATION EQUITY AMENDMENT ACT OF 1990, at 14-15 (1990)). If the employee was working in the District at the time of the injury, the Act applies. See § 32-1503(a)(1); see also King, supra, 742 A.2d at 466. For employment-related injuries occurring outside the District, however, § 32-1503(a)(2) retains the rule that such injuries are compensable under the District's law only if, at the time of the injury . . . the employment is localized principally in the District of Columbia. See King, supra, 742 A.2d at 467. Thus, fixing the time (and therefore the place) of injury is a necessary step in determining whether the WCA grants jurisdiction over the matter. Id. at 467.