The Supreme Court disagreed. Writing for the full seven-member bench, Chief Justice Todd focused squarely on the text of the statute. Section 311 of the Workers’ Compensation Act requires injured employees to give notice to their “employer” within 120 days. The Act defines “employer” in two places. Section 103, which applies across the entire Act, defines the term to include natural persons, partnerships, and corporations – but not insurers. Section 401, which sits within Article IV on procedure, broadens the definition to include insurers, but uses the phrase “when used in this article,” expressly limiting that broader definition to Article IV.
