"Riley Factor"

This article was featured in the January 2007 issue of Business Matters, the Chamber's monthly print newsletter.

Workers’ Compensation Bill Signed into Law

After months of negotiations between the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry, Governor Ed Rendell has signed into law a workers’ compensation reform bill.

The new law benefits both employers and claimants by reducing litigation costs, streamlining the adjudication process, and improving the timeliness and quality of workers’ compensation decisions.

The bill was introduced by chairman of the House Labor Relations Committee Bob Allen (125^th District-Berks/Schuylkill).  The legislation passed the House in June on a 196-0 vote and the Senate in October on a 48-0 vote. Governor Rendell signed the bill into law (Act 147) on November 9^th.

Act 147:

• Requires mandatory mediation in an effort to avoid costly litigation.

• Requires workers’ compensation judges to establish a mandatory trial schedule to be attended by all parties to help prevent delays and higher litigation costs.

• Restructures the workers’ compensation appeals board by establishing a code of ethics for board members and a more streamlined process for final appeal decisions.

• Requires workers’ compensation judges to ride circuit so that only one judge is assigned all of a county’s petitions.

• Establishes an Uninsured Employers Guaranty Fund to provide workers’ compensation benefits to injured workers whose employers did not carry the required coverage.

• Caps attorney fees in all compromise and release settlements.

The legislation was developed in response to a Legislative Budget and Finance Committee review of Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation laws which found that litigation costs associated with workers’ compensation claims in Pennsylvania were higher than in other states.

Act 147 will help bring Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation cost structure more in line with competing states.