Douglas v. Montecito/Safety

Summary

The Arizona Court of Appeals set aside an Industrial Commission award calculating Sheila Douglas’s average monthly wage using nearly the entire 2021 calendar year. The court held that the selected period did not realistically reflect her earning capacity at the time of injury, given her recent transition from part-time LPN employment to full-time RN employment at a higher wage.

Holdings

1. An ALJ may use a timeframe other than the presumptive 30-day period when necessary to achieve a reasonable representation of the injured worker's average monthly wage, but the selected timeframe must realistically reflect the worker's actual monthly earning capacity at the time of injury. Using nearly the entire calendar year, including the worker's prior lower-paid, part-time LPN employment, did not satisfy that requirement after the worker had become a full-time RN.
2. The ALJ could not disregard Douglas's full-time employment status based on speculation unsupported by evidence that her status would change after she began her RN position.
3. The court was limited to affirming or setting aside the award and therefore declined to remand with instructions directing the ALJ how to calculate Douglas's average monthly wage.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Industrial Commission and ALJ properly calculated Douglas's average monthly wage under A.R.S. § 23-1041(A) by using her earnings over nearly the entire preceding year.
2. Whether the selected wage-calculation period realistically reflected Douglas's actual monthly earning capacity at the time of her injury.
3. Whether the court could remand the matter with instructions concerning the proper calculation period or was limited to affirming or setting aside the award.

Disposition

other