Alaska Airlines, Inc.; Eberle Vivian, Inc.; Aiga, as Successor in Interest to Lumbermen’s Insurance Companies; And…

Summary

The court held that the Social Security disability offset must be calculated using the wage determined under any applicable subsection of AS 23.30.220, including the adjusted wage provision for permanently and totally disabled employees. It further held that the Act did not authorize recoupment of previously paid permanent partial impairment benefits from permanent total disability benefits, and that the regulation permitting that recoupment was invalid because it substituted impairment for disability. The court affirmed the Social Security offset ruling, reversed the permanent partial impairment offset ruling, and remanded for further proceedings.