Minn. Government Shutdown Sucks

Monday, July 18, 2011 | 0

By David Kempston
Law Office of Thomas Mottaz

On July 5, 2011 I was interviewed by the National Public Radio about the effect of the Minnesota government shutdown on claimants in the workers’ compensation system. After reflecting on that interview, I decided to summarize some of the effects.

To begin with, although the Minnesota judicial system remains open, both the Department of Labor and Industry and the Office of Administrative Hearings were deemed non-essential. As such, both were shut down. That means that until the government restarts, all pending workers’ compensation court dates are in limbo.

I have already had three hearings cancelled since July 1, 2011. In two of these cases, my clients have waited about one year for their hearing – only to find it cancelled with no indication of a reset date.

In the third case, my client has waited several months for a hearing on approval of a fusion surgery. Cancellation of his hearing means he will have to continue to put up with the pain until we can get another date. Again, nobody knows when that will occur.

Another problem is that pending settlements are essentially stuck in “no man’s land”. Under the workers’ compensation law, for a deal to be valid, it has to be approved by a workers’ compensation judge. That can’t occur with the shutdown. Thus, settlements that were in the works – but not yet finalized at the time of the shutdown – are frozen until such time as the State turns the lights back on and judges are able to approve the pending agreements.

Furthermore, with the shutdown, there is no way to make insurers pay denied claims. For example, an insurer can cut off an injured worker’s wage loss benefit by filing a Notice of Intention to Discontinue Benefits. Typically, this would lead to an objection by the injured worker, followed by the scheduling of a discontinuance conference a couple of weeks. As there are no judges, those objections cannot be processed. Hence, no discontinuance conferences.

Simply put, the Minnesota state government shutdown is not good for injured workers. Hopefully, it will not last long and the effects will not be too pervasive. If it lasts a long time, however, then it may wreak havoc on an already congested system as multiple court dates are cancelled and people are left waiting – wondering what comes next. Unfortunately, none of us know.

David Kempston is a claimants' attorney for the Law Office of Thomas Mottaz in Coon Rapids, Minn. This column was reprinted with his permission from the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Blog, at http://compwonk.com/.