## Facts

- Muriel Wilcox filed a workers’ compensation claim against her employer, the State of Florida Department of Public Health, Division of Risk Management.
- A compensation order awarded Wilcox temporary total disability and permanent total disability benefits, along with costs, interest, and medical expenses.
- After the award, the state learned Wilcox was also receiving federal Social Security disability benefits.
- Section 440.15(9), Florida Statutes, required weekly workers’ compensation benefits to be reduced when the combined workers’ compensation and Social Security disability benefits exceeded 80% of the employee’s average weekly wage.
- Relying on § 440.15(9), the state reduced Wilcox’s weekly workers’ compensation payments without first obtaining an order from the deputy commissioner authorizing the reduction.
- Wilcox contested the reduction, arguing that the state could not reduce benefits on its own and that any offset under § 440.15(9) had to be authorized by the deputy commissioner.
- The lower court agreed with Wilcox and ruled that only the deputy commissioner could reduce the workers’ compensation award.
- The state sought review in the Florida Supreme Court.

## Issues

1. Whether § 440.15(9), Florida Statutes, permits an employer/carrier to apply the Social Security disability offset by reducing weekly workers’ compensation payments without first obtaining authorization from the deputy commissioner.

## Decision

- The Florida Supreme Court reversed the ruling that required deputy-commissioner authorization before applying the § 440.15(9) offset.
- The court held that the employer/carrier may take the Social Security disability offset under § 440.15(9) without first obtaining a modification order.

## Legal Principles

- When a workers’ compensation statute mandates that benefits “shall” be reduced upon specified conditions, the reduction operates by force of law once those conditions exist.
- The § 440.15(9) Social Security disability offset functions as a mathematical limitation on the amount payable each week when combined workers’ compensation and Social Security disability benefits exceed 80% of the employee’s average weekly wage.
- Applying the § 440.15(9) offset does not require relitigation of compensability or disability status; it adjusts the payable amount to comply with the statutory cap.
- An employer/carrier’s ability to take the offset unilaterally does not prevent the claimant from disputing whether the statutory conditions exist or whether the offset was calculated correctly in the workers’ compensation forum.

## Conclusion

Department of Public Health, Division of Risk Management v. Wilcox holds that the Social Security disability offset in § 440.15(9), Florida Statutes, may be applied by an employer/carrier without first obtaining a deputy commissioner’s order, because the statute requires the reduction when the combined benefits exceed 80% of the claimant’s average weekly wage.


Department of Public Health, Division of Risk Management v. Wilcox, 543 So. 2d 1253 (1989)