Breen v. Carlsbad Municipal Schools

1 Christy Ann Breen and Dahlia Carrasco ("Petitioners") suffered temporary total primary mental impairments compensable under the New Mexico Workers Compensation Act ("the Act"). They appeal a Workers Compensation Judges ("WCJ") order limiting their compensation to 100 weeks pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 52-1-41(B) (1999), even though he found they have been disabled in excess of 240 weeks. Petitioners argue that Section 52-1-41 and NMSA 1978, Section 52-1-42 (1990), of the Act violate the Equal Protection Clause of both the New Mexico and United States Constitutions and the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. 12101 to -12213 (2000), because those sections of the Act treat workers with physical impairments differently than workers with mental impairments. These Sections grant compensation for life for total permanent physical disabilities and up to 700 weeks of compensation for permanent partial physical disabilities, yet cap compensation for all primary mental disabilities at 100 weeks. They also argue that the WCJ should have awarded them compensation for the entire time they were disabled based on a prior Court of Appeals memorandum opinion which held Petitioners suffered compensable mental disabilities under the Act without determining the amount of compensation Petitioners were due.