Henry v. State Compensation Insurance Fund

¶ 1 The Workers’ Compensation Court held that the Montana Legislature’s failure to provide vocational rehabilitation benefits to diseased workers under the Occupational Disease Act (ODA), like it provided to injured workers under the Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA), does not violate the equal protection clause of the Montana Constitution. Jerry Henry appeals. We reverse and remand.

¶2 The dispositive issue presented on appeal is whether the Occupational Disease Act violates the equal protection clause of the Montana Constitution because it fails to provide vocational rehabilitation benefits to…