Court Opinion

ID: 9516377
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 23:41:39.007702+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:35:25.729936
License: Public Domain

STRINGER, Justice,
concurring specially.
I concur in the result. I agree the plain meaning of the phrase “benefits being paid” in Minn.Stat. § 176.101, subd. 4 (1994) refers to benefits paid directly to an injured employee and cannot be more broadly construed to mean the value of a benefit received. See Teske v. Young, 309 N.W.2d 753, 755 (Minn.1981). However, I believe today’s result is an anomaly and at odds with the provisions relating to disability benefits available under the Minnesota Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA), Minn.Stat. § 353.01 et seq.
The Workers’ Compensation Laws seek to establish an even-handed structure for similarly situated injured employees. Here, the application of Minn.Stat. § 176.101, subd. 4 results in a significantly greater benefit to this injured employee than to other, similarly situated employees who do not select the joint and survivor’s annuity. In addition, under the Workers’ Compensation Act, the legislature has defined specific benefit provisions for dependents in the event of an injured worker’s death. Nowhere among these *337dependent benefit provisions does the legislature require an employer to pay increased permanent total disability benefits to subsidize or otherwise fund a joint and survivor-ship annuity. The practical effect of tody’s holding is to do just that. Moreover, Minn. Stat. § 353.33 (1994), which provides for disability benefits under PERA, establishes a policy directly contrary to the result we reach today. Minn.Stat. § 353.33, subd. 5 mandates the coordination of disability benefit payments under PERA with benefits received pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Act, but, significantly, requires the benefits be coordinated at the actuarial equivalent of the total single life annuity, regardless of whether another annuity option was in fact selected by the disabled PERA member.
In my opinion, the Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals raised legitimate concerns about the interrelationship of the Workers’ Compensation Laws and PERA. However, as the apparent discrepancy is something properly addressed by the legislature, I concur in the court’s holding.