Conagra, Inc. v. Jeffries

Employer seeks review of an order of the Workers’ Compensation Board assessing a penalty for its unreasonable denial of a claim of 25% of compensation due at the time of the hearing. We reverse the Board; we write to clarify that, in this case, the penalty is to be assessed on all compensation due at the time the denial was withdrawn.

Claimant injured his back in December, 1989. As a result of the injury, he had surgery to repair a herniated disc in January, 1990. Employer denied the claim in April, 1990. Subsequent to the hearing, but before the referee had issued an order, the parties…