Texas Attorney General Opinion: DM-213 Page: 3 of 4
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Honorable James W. Canrr - Page 3 (DM-213)
paid pursuant to a provision in the city personnel manual that stated that an injured
employee would receive, during the period of time provided for under workers'
compensation insurance, compensation in an amount reflecting the difference between the
employee's regular rate of pay and the amount of workers' compensation benefits. The
court concluded that this provision not only created a duty to pay workers' compensation
benefits, but also obligated the city to pay the difference between salary and benefits for
the period the employee was legally entitled to workers' compensation benefits.
Although the court in DeHoyos did not explicitly couch its holding in these terms,
it appears to have determined that the personnel manual constituted a part of the contract
of employment which could not unilaterally be changed by the employer subsequent to a
compensable injury. An employee injured during the effective period of the policy,
therefore, could claim a vested right to the benefits promised by policy. The city would be
prohibited from impairing this right by unilaterally limiting or eliminating these benefits.
The terms of the 1986 order granting supplemental benefits to employees of
Lavaca County authorized supplemental payments "during the period of total disability."
Because the payment of supplemental benefits pursuant to the order is conditioned on the
receipt of workers' compensation benefits by an injured employee, we assume that "period
of total disability" corresponds to the period during which an injured employee receives
workers' compensation benefits. Accordingly, we believe, on the strength of the DeHOyos
case and the terms of the commissioners court's order, that the Lavaca County
Commissioners Court was prohibited from limiting or reducing the amount of
supplemental benefits paid to the two individuals described in your request letter.
S U1MMA R Y
The Commissioners Court of Lavaca County may not reduce the
number or amount of supplemental compensation payments made to
a county employee injured prior to January 1, 1991, pursuant to a
policy that obligates the county to pay, for the period the employee
receives workers' compensation benefits, the difference between
workers' compensation benefits and the employee's regular wages or
salary.
Very truly yours,
DAN MORALES
Attorney General of Texasp. 1130
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: DM-213, text, March 31, 1993; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth274021/m1/3/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.