AFSCME, Council 93, Local 419 v. Sheriff of Suffolk County
AFSCME, Council 93, Local 419 v. Sheriff of Suffolk County
Opinion of the Court
The issue presented is whether the fourteen-day deadline for the initial approval or denial of workers’ compensation benefits set out in G. L. c. 152, § 7(1), applies to additional assault pay benefits to be awarded to correction officers pursuant to G. L. c. 126, § 18A, as amended by St. 1977, c. 1002, and St. 1970, c. 800. Members of AFSCME, Council 93, Local 419 (union), who are employed by the sheriff of Suffolk County (sheriff), sought declaratory and injunctive relief to impose the fourteen-day limitation on the sheriff’s review of their claims for assault pay benefits. A Superior Court judge denied the union’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and entered judgment for the sheriff. We affirm.
The union contends that because the assault pay statutes condition assault pay benefits on the employee’s entitlement to workers’ compensation benefits, the time deadlines in the workers’ compensation statute apply as well. We disagree.
Neither G. L. c. 126, § 18A, nor St. 1970, c. 800, contains an express requirement that the initial determination of eligibility
The language the Legislature did include in G. L. c. 126, § 18A, and St. 1970, c. 800, does not support application of the fourteen-day rule to assault pay determinations as advocated by the union. Rather, the statutes condition assault pay on the employee being entitled to benefits under G. L. c. 152, a determination that is certainly not conclusively made within fourteen days. The workers’ compensation statute provides for periods of payment without prejudice to challenge liability after the fourteen-day period, and hearings to contest liability thereafter.
In Chambers v. Lemuel Shattuck Hosp., 41 Mass. App. Ct. 211 (1996), this court rejected an argument similar to the one
Applying the strict fourteen-day time constraints found in G. L. c. 152 to G. L. c. 126, § 18A, and St. 1970, c. 800, would also ignore the important differences between workers’ compensation and assault pay. Workers’ compensation is designed to compensate employees quickly for workplace injuries regardless of fault. Nason, Koziol, & Wall, Workers’ Compensation § 11.3, at 346 (3d ed. 2003). In contrast, the assault pay statutes provide benefits in addition to workers’ compensation for a select group of injured employees due to the violent acts of patients and inmates. Such acts can result in the discipline of prisoners or patients and even criminal liability, thereby presenting complicated collateral consequences to any findings made by the responsible official. Thus, in addition to determining whether a correction officer is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, the sheriff must determine whether a patient or inmate has engaged in an act of violence. The latter inquiry, with its associated consequences, may require additional time.
Accordingly, in light of the statutory language, our prior case law, and the important differences between workers’ compensation and assault pay, we conclude that the fourteen-day deadline for an initial decision on workers’ compensation found in G. L.
The judgment of the Superior Court is affirmed.
So ordered.
“Within fourteen days of an insurer’s receipt of an employer’s first report of injury, or an initial written claim for weekly benefits on a form prescribed by the department, whichever is received first, the insurer shall either commence payment of weekly benefits under this chapter or shall notify the division of administration, the employer, and, by certified mail, the employee, of its refusal to commence payment of weekly benefits.” G. L. c. 152, § 7(1). There are also penalty provisions under the statute for the failure to comply with the fourteen-day provision. G. L. c. 152, § 7(2).
“An employee in a jail or house of correction of a county who, while in the performance of duty, receives bodily injuries resulting from acts of violence of patients or prisoners in his custody, and who as result of such injury is entitled to benefits under chapter one hundred and fifty-two, shall be paid, in addition to the benefits of said chapter one hundred and fifty-two, the difference between the weekly cash benefits to which he is entitled under said chapter one hundred and fifty-two and his regular salary, without such absence being charged against available sick leave credits, even if such absence may be for less than eight calendar days duration.” G. L. c. 126, § 18A.
“‘Notwithstanding the provisions of section sixty-nine of chapter one hundred and fifty-two of the General Laws, any employee of the city of Boston or the county of Suffolk who, while in the performance of duty, receives bodily injury resulting from any act of violence of any patient or prisoner and who as a result of such injury is entitled to benefits under said chapter one hundred and fifty-two, shall be paid the difference between the weekly cash benefits to which he is entitled under said chapter one hundred and fifty-two and his regular salary, without such difference being charged against available sick leave credits, even if the resultant incapacitation may be for a period of less than six days.” St. 1970, c. 800.
See G. L. c. 152, § 8(1); Nason, Koziol, & Wall, Workers’ Compensation § 13.1, at 393-394 (3d ed. 2003) (“|T|f the insurer decides to pay compensation within the 14 day period, payments made during the first 180 days from the start of disability will be without prejudice, and during that period, the insurer may modify or terminate compensation if the employee returns to work or, on seven days’ written notice, for any reason”).
General Laws c. 30, § 58, fourth par., provides assault pay benefits for State employees. Otherwise, it tracks the language of G. L. c. 126, § 18A.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.