Wausau Insurance Companies v. Director, Office of Workers Compensation Programs

Ronald Guthrie is disabled. The question before us is whether, for purposes of computing Guthrie’s ' disability payments, his “wages” include the value of meals and lodging he received while working on the remote Johnson Atoll in the South Pacific.

The applicable statute defines wages as

33 U.S.C. § 902 (13). Thus, the statute defers to the IRS criteria for deciding whether non-monetary compensation counts as wages. If it is not money, or an “advantage” subject to withholding, it is not included.

Under the Internal Revenue Code, the value of meals and lodging provided by an employer is income unless the. meals and lodging are “furnished ... for the convenience of the employer” and “(1) in the case of meals, the meals are furnished on the business premises of the employer, or (2) in the ease of lodging, the employee is required to accept such lodging on the business premises of his employer as a condition of his employment.” 26 U.S.C. § 119 (a).

It is undisputed that Guthrie’s meals and lodging fit the section 119 criteria and thus were not income according to the IRS. Nonetheless, the Benefits Review Board held that the value of the meals and lodging — $30 per day — counted as…