In cases of serious and willful misconduct by the employee, when is the 50% reduction in the award not applied?

• A. The injury results in death
• B. Where the injured employee is under 16 years of age
• C. When he is drunk
• D. When the injury results in 70% or more disability

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that a 50% reduction is a penalty applied when the injury results from serious and willful misconduct by the employee. But intoxication changes whether that misconduct can be considered “willful.” If the employee is drunk at the time of the incident, the conduct isn’t treated as serious and willful for purposes of applying the penalty, so the 50% reduction does not apply. In other words, drunkenness negates the willful misconduct finding that triggers the reduction. The other scenarios listed (death, being under 16, or a high disability rating) are separate factors that affect benefits in different ways, not the specific applicability of the 50% penalty.