State, Department of Public Health, Division of Risk Management v. Wilcox

The State of Florida, Department of Public Health, Division of Risk Management, appeals a Final Judgment entered in a rule nisi proceeding. The judgment enforces a deputy commissioner’s compensation order and requires the state to pay its employee, Muriel Wilcox, the full amount of her medical and disability benefits. The state maintains that it properly deducted social security payments from Mrs. Wilcox’s awards, that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to authorize execution and levy against the state, and that, like any other employer, the state may unilaterally modify the deputy…