Breen v. Carlsbad Mun. Schools

• Decision Date: 15 August 2005
• Docket Number: No. 27,950.,27,950.
• Citation: 120 P.3d 413,2005 NMSC 028
• Parties: Christy Ann BREEN and Dahlia Carrasco, Claimants-Petitioners, v. CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL SCHOOLS, and New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority, Respondents-Respondents.
• Court: New Mexico Supreme Court

Page 413

120 P.3d 413

2005 NMSC 028

Christy Ann BREEN and Dahlia Carrasco, Claimants-Petitioners, v. CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL SCHOOLS, and New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority, Respondents-Respondents.

No. 27,950.

Supreme Court of New Mexico.

August 15, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Cusack, Jaramillo, Romero & Associates, P.C., Freddie J. Romero, Roswell, for Petitioners.

Yenson, Lynn, Allen & Wosick, P.C., Phyllis Savage Lynn, April D. Maschmeier, Albuquerque, for Respondents.

Robert L. Scott, Albuquerque, for Amicus Curiae New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association.

OPINION

MAES, Justice.

{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 Judge's ("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.

{2} In this current appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the WCJ's determination that the Act did not violate equal protection or the ADA and that the prior Court of Appeals memorandum opinion was properly interpreted as only mandating 100 weeks of compensation. Breen v. Carlsbad Mun. Sch., 2003-NMCA-058, ¶¶ 3, 5, 133 N.M. 618, 67 P.3d 908. We granted Petitioners' petition for certiorari, pursuant to Rule 12-502 NMRA 2005, and now reverse on equal protection grounds. We hold that Sections 52-1-41 and -42 of the Act violate equal protection guarantees of the New Mexico Constitution by treating mentally disabled workers differently than physically disabled workers. Consequently, we do not reach Petitioners' ADA claim or their claim that the Court of Appeals erred in construing its previous memorandum opinion.

FACTS AND PROCEDURE BELOW

{3} Petitioners were injured when the Carlsbad Municipal Schools remodeled portions of the building where they worked. Odors and dust from the remodeling project caused the Petitioners to suffer a conditioned psychological response that prevented them from continuing to work. The WCJ found that Petitioners suffered a primary mental impairment under the Act and were eligible for compensation. Before the WCJ determined exactly how much compensation Petitioners were entitled to, Respondents filed the first appeal in this case. Respondents challenged the WCJ's determination that Petitioners suffered a compensable primary mental impairment. The Court of Appeals consolidated the two claims, issued a memorandum opinion affirming the determination that Petitioners suffered a compensable primary mental impairment, and returned the case to the WCJ to determine the amount of compensation Petitioners should receive. Carrasco v. Carlsbad Mun. Sch., Nos. 20,833/20,832 (N.M.Ct.App. May 29, 2001) (consolidated). Respondents' petition for certiorari to this Court from that memorandum opinion was denied.

{4} Calculated from the date of injury, Petitioner Breen had been disabled for 240 weeks and Petitioner Carrasco had been disabled for 233 weeks on the date the Court of Appeals prior memorandum opinion was filed. However, the WCJ awarded Petitioners only 100 weeks of disability compensation in accordance with Section 52-1-41(B).

{5} This appeal is based on Petitioners' Application for Supplementary Compensation Orders filed after the WCJ awarded only 100 weeks of compensation. Petitioners seek to recover compensation for the total amount of time they have been disabled above the 100 weeks already awarded. At the hearing on the Application, Petitioners argued the same issues on appeal here: that compensating physical disabilities for life or up to 700 weeks, while limiting compensation for mental disabilities to 100 weeks, violated their rights under the Equal Protection Clauses of the New Mexico and United States Constitutions, as well as the ADA, and that the WCJ should award them "ongoing" disability compensation in accordance with the Court of Appeals' prior memorandum opinion. The WCJ entered a judgment denying the Application for Supplementary Compensation Orders, and Petitioners appealed to the Court of Appeals. On this appeal, Respondents do not contest the fact that Petitioners suffered a compensable mental disability under the Act or the number of weeks they have been disabled.

{6} The Court of Appeals affirmed the WCJ's orders. Specifically, the court held that: (1) the Act does not violate equal protection because, although Petitioners were similarly situated and subject to dissimilar treatment, there is a rational basis for the statutory scheme, Breen, 2003-NMCA-058, ¶ 14; (2) the Act does not violate the ADA because the ADA prohibits discrimination against disabled people in favor of the non-disabled, but does not prohibit discrimination amongst disabled people, id. ¶ 27; and (3) the WCJ properly awarded 100 weeks of disability benefits in accordance with the prior memorandum opinion, id. ¶ 7.

DISCUSSION

I. The Equal Protection Clause of the New Mexico Constitution

{7} Petitioners argue that their equal protection rights are violated by the Act because it caps all forms of compensation for persons with primary mental impairments at 100 weeks, while allowing substantially more compensation for persons with physical impairments.¹ Petitioners argue the Act violates their equal protection rights by treating persons with mental disabilities differently from those with physical disabilities. Equal protection, both federal and state, guarantees that the government will treat individuals similarly situated in an equal manner. Wagner v. AGW Consultants, 2005-NMSC-016, ¶ 21, 137 N.M. 734, 114 P.3d 1050. The New Mexico Constitution provides, "nor shall any person be denied equal protection of the laws." N.M. Const. art. II, § 18. Equal protection guarantees "prohibit the government from creating statutory classifications that are unreasonable, unrelated to a legitimate statutory purpose, or are not based on real differences." Madrid v. St. Joseph Hosp., 1996-NMSC-064, ¶ 34, 122 N.M. 524, 928 P.2d 250. Petitioners claim that they are similarly situated with all other disabled workers, regardless of whether the disability is the result of physical or mental impairments. Thus, they claim that the government violated their equal protection rights by treating them differently on the sole basis of a mental, rather than physical, disability.

{8} There are several steps necessary to determine whether Petitioners' equal protection rights are violated by the Act. Petitioners must first prove that they are similarly situated to another group but are treated dissimilarly. In other words, Petitioners must prove that they should be treated equally with another group but they are not because of a legislative classification. If Petitioners are successful in proving this, then a court must determine what level of scrutiny should be applied to the legislation they are challenging. In equal protection challenges, a court will apply different levels of scrutiny depending on either the rights that the legislation affects or the status of the group of people it affects. Wagner, 2005-NMSC-016, ¶ 12. Scrutiny means how closely the courts will analyze the rationales the proponent of the legislation offers in support of its constitutionality. Different levels of scrutiny also dictate which party has the burden of proof. Either the person challenging the legislation must prove that the statute is unconstitutional, or the party defending the legislation must prove that the statute is constitutional or comports with equal protection.

{9} In this section, we will first analyze whether under the Act persons with mental impairments are similarly situated with persons with physical impairments. Second, we will analyze what standard of review is appropriate to review legislation that affects persons with mental disabilities. This involves a discussion of whether the New Mexico Constitution affords greater protection than the United States Constitution. Third, we will discuss how we analyze intermediate scrutiny under the New Mexico Constitution. Finally, we will discuss if the Act's treatment of persons with mental disabilities is constitutional under equal protection analysis.

A. Disparate Treatment of Similarly Situated Individuals

{10} The threshold question in analyzing all equal protection challenges is whether the legislation creates a class of similarly situated individuals who are treated dissimilarly. Madrid, 1996-NMSC-064, ¶ 35. Under the Act, a worker is eligible for compensation if he or she is unable to perform work duties because of an accident arising out of and in the course of his or her employment. NMSA 1978, § 52-1-25(A) (2003); NMSA 1978, § 52-1-25.1(A) (1990). Sections 52-1-41 and -42 create categories of similarly situated individuals, either totally impaired or partially impaired.² Within those similarly situated groups, persons with mental disabilities are treated differently than...