Messer v. Department of Labor & Industries

Robert C. Messer appeals the calculation of his pension benefits by the Department of Labor and Industries (Department). He claims that the Department improperly relied upon an annuity chart (Table C) based upon outdated life expectancy data from 1979-81. He also claims that the Department’s method for recouping a previously paid permanent partial disability award results in an excessive reduction of monthly pension benefits.

Because substantial evidence supported the use of Table C and the Washington Supreme Court has decided that the proper method for calculating pension benefits when the…