|Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation| & Disability Lawyer

Since the amendments of Act 57,  it has become rare for an injured worker to be able to recover both workers compensation benefits and some other form of wage loss benefit. In Kellv v. WCAB (US Air), the Supreme Court allowed just such a “double recovery” to happen. Affirming the Commonwealth Court decision, the Supreme Court ruled that furlough benefits were not “severance benefits” under section 204 of the Act. Rather, furlough benefits, accumulated based on years of service, finite in duration, and paid to a worker with a right to be reinstated under the collective bargaining agreement were more akin to sick time or vacation benefits. Therefore, the employer was not entitled to a credit.

Congratulations to Larry Chabin, Esquire for his perserverance. Larry’s argument did not initially prevail before the WCJ or the Workers Compensation Appeal Board.

In Philadelphia Gas Works v. WCAB (AMODEI), 964 A. 2d 963, the Commonwealth Court ruled that employers must use the net rather than gross pension benefit amount when taking offset under Act 57. Today, the Supreme Court denied employer’s request for allocatur. Congratulations to Daniel Siegel, Esquire on a job well done.

The International Association of Industrial Accident Boards & Commissions (IAIABC) is a not-for-profit trade association representing government agencies charged with the administration of workers compensation systems throughout the United States, Canada, and other nations and territories.

It reports that two Pennsylvania legislators are the sponsors of the new bill we previously mentioned - Bristol’s Patrick Murphy (D) and Tim Murphy (R). The IAIABC reports that that HR 4796 seeks to resolve several problems with the set-aside process, including settlement delays and prompt reimbursement of the trust fund. According to the IAIABC, the bill seeks to:

 - Revise the information flow so that MSP conditional payment demand occurs before settlement

- Provide a safe harbor alternative if the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is unable to provide a final demand before settlement

- Provide a right of appeal to a non-group health plan settling party

- Establish a $5,000 threshold on MSP recoveries and set a three year statute of limitations.

Source: New Legislation Advanced to Improve the Medicare Set-Asides Settlement Process - International Association of Industrial Accident Boards & Commissions