Court Opinion

ID: 9529526
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:51:43.43036+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:27:50.302138
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE RYAN, dissenting: The majority of this court appears to me to have strained in order to reach a desired result. Although the awarding of compensation to a widow for the death of her husband may indeed be laudable, I fear that the placing of responsibility on the employer in this case may discourage the continuance of employer-sponsored rehabilitation programs. It is true that Sears may have derived some indirect benefits from the rehabilitation of its employees. It cannot be denied, however, that the primary beneficiaries of such a program are the alcoholics who have, through its use, been rehabilitated. There are, no doubt, many Sears employees who are leading productive lives today because of this program. I, for one, do not want to discourage employers from instituting or continuing activities which are so benficial to the employees. A death award under the present provisions of the Workmen’s Compensation Act is not insubstantial. Such an award could very well convince an employer that it is to its benefit not to attempt to rehabilitate its employees, but to discharge them. For this reason I dissent from the majority holding.