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Standring v. Town of Skowhegan4/8/2005
Reporter of Decisions
Argued: October 20, 2004
Majority: DANA, ALEXANDER, CALKINS, and LEVY, JJ.
Concurrence: CLIFFORD, and RUDMAN, JJ.
[ ] Kevin C. Standring appeals from a decision of a hearing officer of the Workers' Compensation Board (Elwin, HO) that denied his petitions for incapacity and medical benefits. He contends that the hearing officer erred in concluding that his injury, which occurred during the course of a physical agility test to secure a promotion from reserve to full-time police officer, did not arise out of and occur in the course of his employment as a police officer. Because we conclude that the hearing officer applied an incorrect standard in determining whether the injury at issue arose out of and occurred in the course of Standring's employment as a police officer, we vacate the hearing officer's decision.
I. CASE HISTORY
[ ] The hearing officer found that Kevin Standring was employed as a reserve police officer for the Town of Skowhegan. While on duty, a reserve police officer performs the same functions and possesses the same authority as a full-time patrol officer. A reserve officer has no set number of hours and receives no benefits beyond pay for hours served as a reserve officer. Standring earned an average of slightly more than $300 a week as a reserve officer.
[ ] In July 2002, a full-time patrol officer position became available. The hearing officer found that Standring and two other reserve officers applied for promotion to the full-time patrol officer position. A physical agility test was a required part of the application process. Standring and the two other reserve officers participated in the physical agility test in August 2002. During the course of this test, Standring suffered a heart attack. Following the heart attack, Standring underwent surgery, followed by an eight-week rehabilitation program. The hearing officer found that Standring "returned to work" as a reserve officer in December 2002. He was hired as a full-time patrol officer in April 2003, but then left employment for reasons unrelated to this case in June 2003.
[ ] While undergoing cardiac rehabilitation therapy in November 2002, Standring filed petitions for award with the Workers' Compensation Board, seeking incapacity and medical benefits. The hearing officer denied the petitions, concluding that Standring's heart attack during the physical agility test did not arise out of and occur in the course of his employment. The reasons for the hearing officer's conclusions were that: (1) Standring was not being paid for his time taking the physical agility test; (2) he was not required to take that test to remain a reserve officer; (3) he was not guaranteed a promotion to the full-time position if he passed the test; (4) he was free to discontinue the test at any time and thus was not under the control of his employer; and (5) the "benefit Employer received from Employee's taking of the PAT does not rise to the level at which a contract of employment should be implied."
[ ] To support her conclusions, the hearing officer cited only a 1987 intermediate appellate court case, Boyd v. City of Montgomery, 515 So. 2d 6, 7 (Ala. Civ. App. 1987). In Boyd, an applicant for a police position, who had no connection with the police department, was injured during a physical agility test. Id. The appeals court found that this injury, to one who was not an employee, was not a compensable, job -related injury. Id.
[ ] The hearing officer applied this precedent to bar Standring's claim, although she had found that Standring (1) "was a reserve officer at the time of his injury"; (2) had an establish
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