[DOWNLOAD] "Burley v. Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare" by Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Burley v. Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
- Author : Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court
- Release Date : January 10, 2001
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 70 KB
Description
Argued: February 5, 2001 Nora Burley (Burley) appeals from an order of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW), Bureau of Hearings and Appeals (BHA), which adopted, in its entirety, a BHA hearing official's recommendation to deny Burley's appeal of a DPW decision. In that decision, DPW held that benefits awarded to Burley pursuant to Act 534 1 (Act 534 benefits) should be reduced by the $7,707.00 in benefits that Burley received under the unemployment compensation (UC) Law 2 (UC benefits). Burley worked for the New Castle Youth Development Center (YDC). On April 15, 1996, Burley suffered an injury to her right rotator cuff, both knees and low back. (Hearing Official's Findings of Fact, No. 1.) Although Burley was able to work modified duty after her injury, YDC did not make a modified duty position available to her. (Hearing Official's Findings of Fact, No. 2.) Consequently, Burley did not work from July 10, 1996 through July 15, 1997. (Hearing Official's Findings of Fact, No. 3.) As a result of her injury, Burley filed for benefits under the workers' compensation (WC) Act 3 (WC benefits) and Act 534. DPW, however, denied both requests on the grounds that there was insufficient medical evidence to establish a connection between Burley's injury and her employment. (Hearing Official's Findings of Fact, No. 5.) Burley appealed the denial of WC benefits to the Bureau of Workers' Compensation (Bureau). (Hearing Official's Findings of Fact, No. 6.) She also appealed the denial of Act 534 benefits to the BHA. (Hearing Official's Findings of Fact, No. 6.) While her claim for WC benefits was pending before the Bureau, Burley and DPW settled her Act 534 appeal (Act 534 Settlement) by agreeing that they would be bound by the decision of the WC judge (WCJ) as to whether Burley's disability was related to her employment. (Hearing Official's Findings of Fact, No. 8.) In addition, Burley applied for, and received, UC benefits in the amount of $7,707.00, representing twenty-one weeks of benefits from the week ending February 22, 1997 4 to the week ending July 12, 1997. (Hearing Official's Findings of Fact, No. 7.) Ultimately, the WCJ found that Burley's injury was related to her employment and awarded Burley WC benefits. (Hearing Official's Findings of Fact, No. 10.) Consequently, pursuant to the Act 534 Settlement, Burley also received her full, pre-injury salary under Act 534. However, because Burley was receiving these Act 534 benefits, YDC's workers' compensation carrier, PHICO, paid the full amount of Burley's WC benefits to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Commonwealth); PHICO took no offset for the UC benefits previously paid to Burley. (Hearing Official's Findings of Fact, Nos. 11, 15; see 61 P.S. §951, Burley's brief at 9.) Eventually, based on the Act 534 Settlement, DPW authorized the payment to Burley of Act 534 benefits for the period of July 10, 1996 through July 15, 1997. (Hearing Official's Findings of Fact, No. 12.) However, in computing the amount of benefits owed to Burley, DPW, through the Office of the Budget, reduced Burley's Act 534 award by $7,707.00, the amount that she received in UC benefits, and reimbursed this amount to the UC Trust Fund. (Hearing Official's Findings of Fact, Nos. 13-14.) Burley then filed an appeal with the BHA, seeking repayment of the $7,707.00 deducted from her Act 534 award. Specifically, Burley asserted that the $7,707.00 in UC benefits should have been deducted from her WC benefits rather than her Act 534 benefits and that she remained entitled to her full salary under Act 534.