Soucy v. County of Penobscot (Decision 25-18)– Where Board inadvertently delayed mailing a September 18 2023 decree on the employee’s petition for award until January 25, 2024 and the decree based earning capacity on State of Maine 2023 minimum wage, ALJ erred in amended decree by failing to base earning capacity on a 2024 minimum wage. Following late receipt of the 2023 decree and in response to the employer’s motion for further findings, the board issued an amended decree which denied the employer’s request the board now use the 2024 minimum wage. The ALJ relied on the board’s decision in Carver, App. Div. Dec. No. 21-30, which held that a change in minimum wage, by itself, could not constitute a change of circumstance on an employer’s petition for review. In this case, it was the board’s initial determination of earning capacity on the employees’ petition for award. Carver was not controlling.
The Appellate Division further held the ALJ did not err in failing to order repayment of a lost time benefit overpayment resulting from the delayed decree mailing. 39-A M.R.S.A. sec. 324(1) was inapplicable because the overpayment based on use of the 2023 minimum wage was not made pending appeal.
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