Gilmore v. Alaska Workers' Compensation Board

In my view the Alaska Workers’ Compensation Board (Board) erred when it construed “absent from the labor force” to mean “simply ‘unemployed.’ ” The basis for the Board’s construction is its view of how to implement the legislative goal sought to be achieved by the amendments contained in Senate Bill 322, which is establishment of a quick, efficient, fair, and predictable benefits system. This goal is explicit in the prefatory ‘intent’ section of the bill. In the Board’s view, any definition of “absent from the labor force” broader than “unemployed” would frustrate the legislative goal and…