City of Northglenn v. Eltrich, 94CA1328

CourtCourt of Appeals of Colorado
Citation908 P.2d 139
Docket NumberNo. 94CA1328,94CA1328
PartiesCITY OF NORTHGLENN and Colorado Compensation Insurance Authority, Petitioners, v. Jeannine M. ELTRICH and the Industrial Claim Appeals Office of the State of Colorado, Respondents. . V
Decision Date29 June 1995

Michael J. Steiner, Denver, for petitioners.

Fogel, Keating & Wagner, P.C., Marshall A. Fogel, Laurence J. Free, Denver, for respondent Jeannine M. Eltrich.

No Appearance for the Industrial Claim Appeals Office.

Opinion by Chief Judge STERNBERG.

The City of Northglenn (employer) and its insurer, the Colorado Compensation Insurance Authority (CCIA), seek review of a final order of the Industrial Claim Appeals Panel determining that Jeannine M. Eltrich (claimant) suffered a compensable industrial injury. The determinative issue is whether the injury sustained by the claimant while she was engaged in a self-directed, off-duty exercise program is a compensable industrial injury. We conclude that claimant's injury does not satisfy the statutory requirements for compensability and, therefore, set aside the award of benefits.

Claimant was employed as a police officer during the time that employer instituted a mandatory physical fitness testing program. Shortly before her injury, claimant failed to perform satisfactorily on the cardiovascular portion of that test, and her supervisor commented about the need to improve her performance. Claimant testified that this comment caused her to fear losing her job because employer's disciplinary procedure permitted termination upon failure to meet the physical testing requirements. According to claimant, in response to this remark, she began riding a bicycle during off-duty hours in order to improve her physical condition so that she could perform satisfactorily on the cardiovascular test. While doing so, she sustained the injuries for which she sought compensation.

The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) concluded that off-duty training was mandatory in order to meet the physical testing requirements and that failure to meet the requirements could result in termination. The ALJ further concluded that this implied compulsion to train off-duty caused claimant to engage in bicycle riding, which in turn caused her compensable injury.

The employer contends the conclusion that claimant's injury arose out of and in the course of her employment is contrary to the law and not supported by the evidence. We adopt the ALJ's findings on the facts. Nonetheless, we conclude that those findings do not support the ALJ's legal conclusion that claimant's injury arose out of and occurred within the scope of her employment with Northglenn. See Dorsch v. Industrial Commission, 185 Colo. 219, 523 P.2d 458 (1974) (the correctness of a legal conclusion drawn from undisputed facts is properly a matter for the appellate court). Thus, we hold that the ALJ's conclusion was erroneous as a matter of law.

An activity "arises out of and in the course of" employment when it is sufficiently interrelated to the conditions and circumstances under which the employee usually performs his or her job functions that the activity reasonably may be characterized as an incident of employment, even though the activity itself is not a strict obligation of employment and does not confer a special benefit on the employer. City of Boulder v. Streeb, 706 P.2d 786 (Colo.1985); see § 8-41-301(1)(b), C.R.S. (1994 Cum.Supp.).

The "in the course of employment" requirement is satisfied by showing that an injury occurred within the time and place limits of the employment relation and during an activity that has some connection with the employee's job-related functions. The "arising out of" requirement is met when the origins of the injury are work-related and the injury is sufficiently related to the work to be considered part of the employee's service to the employer. General Cable Co. v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 878 P.2d 118 (Colo.App.1994).

Both sides in this review rely on City & County of Denver v. Lee, 168 Colo. 208, 450 P.2d 352 (1969). There, a police officer was compensated for an injury sustained while playing basketball on an employer-sponsored team. The circumstances of the Lee injury make it factually distinguishable from this case. However, Lee sets forth a framework for analysis to determine whether a recreational-type activity arises out of and in the course of employment.

This framework includes as factors to be considered: whether the activity occurred during working hours; whether it occurred on or off the employer's premises; whether participation was required; and whether the employer initiated, organized, sponsored, financially supported, or derived a benefit from the activity. Significantly, the Lee court added that: "other factors may be present which indicate whether the employer is sufficiently close to the activity to identify with it and make it incidental to employment." Denver v. Lee, supra, 168 Colo. at 213, 450 P.2d at 355. In applying these factors, however, the Lee court did not establish their relative weight or conclude that their presence required a conclusion that the recreational activity arose out of and occurred in the course of employment.

Some of the Lee factors are present here: the employee felt compelled to engage in an off-duty exercise program, and the employer stood to benefit, at least indirectly, from the program. Nevertheless, other Lee factors are not present: the...

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2 cases
  • Price v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office of State of Colo., s. 95SC303
    • United States
    • Colorado Supreme Court
    • June 17, 1996
    ...decisions of the court of appeals in Price v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 908 P.2d 136 (Colo.App.1995), and City of Northglenn v. Eltrich, 908 P.2d 139 (Colo.App.1995). In both cases, the court of appeals held that the respective claimants' injuries are not compensable under the Colora......
  • Dover Elevator Co. v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office of State of Colo., 97CA2155
    • United States
    • Colorado Court of Appeals
    • June 11, 1998
    ...for analysis to determine whether a recreational-type activity arises out of and in the course of employment. City of Northglenn v. Eltrich, 908 P.2d 139 (Colo.App.1995), aff'd sub nom. Price v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 919 P.2d 207 (Colo.1996). That framework includes as factors to......

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