Facts
[K.] , born in 1982, performed civilian service from 8 December 2008 to 15 March 2009 and was compensated for it at the minimum rate of CHF 54.- per day, or CHF 62.- per day from January 2009 onwards. The Compensation Fund of the Canton of Zurich confirmed these rates. [K.] filed a complaint against this compensation and requested that the daily rates be set based on the industry-standard starting wage. The Social Insurance Court of the Canton of Zurich dismissed the complaint. [K.] then filed a public law appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court has decided that the lower court correctly interpreted the provisions of Art. 1 para. 2 lit. c of the Compensation for Loss of Earnings Ordinance (LECO) as a rebuttable legal presumption. This provision facilitates the proof of the hypothetical commencement of employment for persons who have just completed their education immediately before entering service. However, the administration can rebut this presumption by presenting circumstances indicating that the claimant would not have taken up employment even without performing the service.
In the present case, the lower court found that the appellant had stayed abroad until 29 June 2009 after completing the service and had only…