Commonwealth Court Rules in Favor of Injured Worker in Offset Dispute
The Commonwealth Court in Glen Gadonas v. WCAB (Boeing Defense & Space Group)ruled in favor of an injured worker in a dispute over whether the employer was entitled to an offset against the claimant's workers' compensation benefits for disability pension money received by the worker. The Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act allows an employer to reduce an injured worker's workers' compensation benefits by any amount that the injured worker receives in employer-funded disability pension benefits. In this case, shortly after going out on workers' compensation, the employee sought to receive his disability pension. The employer specifically assured the employee that there would not be any offset against his workers' compensation benefits if he took the disability pension. The employee began receiving $738 per month in a disability pension.
Five months later, the employer filed a Petition to take the offset. The claimant immediately took out a $4,500 personal loan and deposited the funds into a self-directed Individual Retirement Account. The $4,500 represented the approximate amount he had received in disability pension up to that time. By doing this, the claimant sought to "roll over" his pension benefits into an IRA, thus avoiding the offset against his workers' compensation benefits. The workers' compensation judge still granted the employer's petition and permitted the offset. The Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (WCAB) affirmed the judge's decision. However, the Commonwealth Court found that in view of the specific circumstances of this case - particularly the employer's false assurance to the claimant regarding there being no offset - the claimant would be "unjustifiably prejudiced" if the employer was entitled to the offset. The Court reversed and denied the employer's right to take the offset. To view the entire decision, click here.
