A federal appellate court ruled Thursday that a former prison guard wasn’t permitted to collect workers compensation disability benefits from Washington, D.C., while simultaneously collecting federal retirement disability benefits.
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals vacated a judge’s order reinstating David Fant’s workers comp benefits, which had been challenged by the District of Columbia’s Office of Risk Management over claims that Mr. Fant couldn’t receive both types of benefits for the same injury.
Mr. Fant injured his back in 1989, after which he received temporary total disability benefits from the district. He was approved for federal retirement disability benefits in 1993.
Mr. Fant received both types of benefits until 2017 when the district Office of Risk Management terminated the comp benefits because, it argued, Mr. Fant couldn’t double collect.
A judge ruled Mr. Fant was permitted to collect both types of benefits because a change in law prohibiting double collection didn’t occur until 2010, and retroactively apply the revised law was improper.
The appeals court agreed with the Office of Risk Management, ruling that once the 2010 revised law went into effect, Mr. Fant should have been barred from receiving any further district workers comp benefits while he received federal retirement disability benefits.
The appeals court remanded the case to the lower judge with an order to uphold the termination of workers comp benefits.