Ronald Coleman v. United Parcel Service

In this appeal from a decision of the commissioner of labor and industry granting plaintiff disability benefits, defendant United Parcel Service claims that the award must be reversed because it was not made within 60 days of hearing as mandated by 21 V.S.A. § 664 (“Within sixty days [of hearing], the commissioner shall make h[er] award ....”).

Arguing that the “plain meaning” of § 664 evidences legislative intent that workers’ compensation awards be “quick,” Kittell v. Vermont Weatherboard, Inc., 138 Vt. 439, 441, 417 A.2d 926, 927 (1980), defendant maintains that the matter should be removed…