Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 39, March 25, 2024
Subpart
1.
Allocation of compensation by judge.
A. A party may petition for an allocation of
benefits under Minnesota Statutes, section
176.111,
subdivision 10. The petition may contain a proposed allocation. The petition
must be served on all parties and filed with the division within one year after
the date of death. If a petition for allocation is not filed in a timely manner
and the death occurred after June 30, 1981, the allocation will be as provided
in subpart
2.
B. A party may object to a proposed
allocation by serving on all parties and filing an objection with the division
within 20 days after service of the petition. The objection must contain a
clear and concise statement of the specific grounds for the objection and must
be accompanied by any documentary evidence supporting the objection.
C. A settlement judge shall rule on the
petition without a hearing. If a party objects to the judge's decision, the
party may request a hearing by filing with the division a written request for
hearing within 30 days after the decision was filed. Upon receipt of a timely
request for hearing, the matter will be referred to the office for
hearing.
Subp. 2.
Allocation of compensation in other cases.
In all cases where there has been no allocation of benefits
by a judge under subpart
1, and the death occurs after
June 30, 1981, compensation to which dependents are entitled under Minnesota
Statutes, section
176.111,
shall be allocated as follows:
A. If
the deceased employee leaves a surviving spouse and one dependent child, 84
percent of the compensation due under Minnesota Statutes, section
176.111,
shall be paid to the surviving spouse and the remaining 16 percent of the
compensation shall be paid for the benefit of the dependent child.
B. If the deceased employee leaves a
surviving spouse and two or more dependent children, 75 percent of the
compensation due under Minnesota Statutes, section
176.111,
shall be paid to the surviving spouse and the remaining 25 percent shall be
paid for the benefit of the dependent children.
This allocation shall apply from the date of death until a
court-determined allocation is made, if any.
Subp. 3. [Repealed, 18 SR 2546]
Subp. 4.
Factors in allocating.
Factors which may justify a different allocation from that
provided in subpart
2 include special
circumstances which necessitate greater income to one or more of the dependents
and the existence of other adequate means of support, other than workers'
compensation benefits, for certain dependents but not for others.
Subp. 5.
Offset for
government survivor benefits.
An offset for government survivor benefits is allowed under
Minnesota Statutes, section
176.111,
subdivision 21, only to the extent that the government survivor benefits, when
combined with the weekly workers' compensation benefits, exceed the weekly wage
of the deceased employee at the time of death or exceeds the dependents
allocated portion of the weekly wage for deaths occurring prior to July 1,
1981. For purposes of this offset, the weekly wage must be increased by the
adjustments provided by Minnesota Statutes, section
176.645.
A. Deaths prior to July 1, 1981. If there is
a surviving spouse and one or more dependent children in a single household,
the offset must be computed twice, once separately for the spouse and once
separately for the children, the children being taken as a group. For purposes
of this computation, the weekly wage, as adjusted pursuant to Minnesota
Statutes, section
176.645,
is allocated between the spouse and children in the same proportion as benefits
are allocated pursuant to this rule. Mother's and father's insurance benefits
under United States Code, title 42, section 402(g), must be allocated to the
children.
B. Deaths after June 30,
1981.
(1) Surviving spouse responsible for
support of all dependents. If the support of all dependent children is the
responsibility of the surviving spouse, the offset shall be computed only once,
taking the spouse and dependent children together as one group. All government
survivor benefits, including mother's and father's insurance benefits, received
by any member of the group shall be lumped together for purposes of computing
the offset.
(2) Surviving spouse
not responsible for support of all dependents. If support of one or more of the
dependent children is not the responsibility of the surviving spouse, the
offset shall be computed twice, once for the surviving spouse and the children
dependent on the surviving spouse, all taken as a group, and once for the
children whose support is not the responsibility of the surviving spouse. For
purposes of the offset, the weekly wage, as adjusted under Minnesota Statutes,
section
176.645,
must be allocated between the spouse and children in the same proportion as
benefits are allocated pursuant to this part. Mother's and father's insurance
benefits must be allocated to the group comprised of the dependent children for
whose benefit the mother's and father's insurance benefits are being
paid.
Statutory Authority: MS s
14.388;
175.17;
175.171;
176.83