Alaska Employment Law

Tardy med mal settlement report:  The Alaska State Medical Board has imposed a $1,000 fine and issued a formal reprimand to a doctor who waited more than 30 days to file a report that he’d settled a medical malpractice claim against him.  A state statute requires the report to the Board, and a regulation characterizes noncompliance with the statute as “unprofessional conduct.”  AS 08.64.345; 12 AAC 40.930(c). 

Jay Abbott is licensed to practice in eight states, and had worked as an orthopedic locum tenens at Bartlett Hospital in Juneau.  The Board discovered the malpractice settlement through a report from the National Practitioner Data Bank.  It’s not clear that the malpractice even occurred in Alaska.  

The Medical Board held that 1) the malpractice carrier’s report to the Data Bank didn’t satisfy the statute, and that 2) the regulation didn’t require intentional conduct. 

Dale Whitney was the ALJ.

In re Jay Abbott, M.D., OAH No. 09-0397-MED (Feb. 4, 2010)

Suspension of ERISA retirement benefits:  ERISA permits covered retirement plans to suspend retirement benefits when retirees perform certain kinds of work for 40 or more hours in a month.  See 29 CFR § 2530.203-3.

Two Alaska retirees from Operators Local 302 have challenged their union trust fund’s decision to suspend their pension payments.   According to their federal lawsuit, they’d worked as mechanics (”oilers” in the trade) before they retired.  After retirement, they wanted to work for the State of Alaska as “flaggers,” snowplow driver, and “laborer,” all jobs within the jurisdiction of Laborers Local  71 rather than OE Local 302.  They claim that the 302 trust fund said that such work would result in suspension of their 302 retirement checks because the 302 mechanic jobs required them, incidentally, to drive vehicles (and check them before driving), as did the Laborers jobs.  The retirees argue that the overlap between their old 302 jobs and the Laborers jobs is too insignificant to warrant suspension of retirement benefits. 

The case is Tapley v. Locals 302 and 612 Retirement Plan, 3:10-cv-00033.  It’s assigned to Senior District Judge Russel Holland.  Plaintiff’s counsel is Michael Flanigan of Anchorage.