Meade v. Spud Mining

OPINION OF THE COURT

The claim for retraining incentive benefits (RIB) which is the subject of each of these workers’ compensation appeals was filed on or before April 4, 1994, the effective date of the 1994 amendment to KRS 342.732(l)(a). Therefore, each claim was pending on that date. None of the workers was engaged in retraining at the time of his award, and all *585continued to be employed in the coal mining industry.

In each of these claims, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) determined that the worker had contracted category 1 coal workers’ pneumoconiosis and that he remained employed in the…