There is a patchwork of compensation benefits available to injured government workers in Pennsylvania. Whether you are covered by Pennsylvania or Federal workers’ compensation law depends on a number of factors. In addition, there are supplemental workers’ compensation programs available to certain state and county employees as well as employees of the City of Philadelphia which we are familiar with and can assist you with at Kaufman Workers’ Compensation Law.
Federal Employees
If you are a Federal employee, you are not covered by the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. This includes government workers and employees like postal carriers, longshore and harbor workers, defense base workers, and most rail employees. The federal programs include:
1. FECA (Federal Employees Compensation Act): covers Federal civilian employees
2. FELA (Federal Employees’ Liability Act): Covers railroad workers, including those employed by SEPTA and other transit agencies who work on trains including drivers, conductors and railroad laborers.
3. Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act: Covers maritime workers when the injury occurs on “navigable waters” or “wet dock.” Injuries that occur on “dry dock” or land are subject to concurrent Federal and Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act jurisdiction.
4. Jones Act: Covers seamen injured on the job
Pennsylvania State Employees, County & City Employees
All Pennsylvania state, county and city employees are covered by the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. However there are additional programs that provide benefits beyond standard workers’ compensation benefits. If you are an injured state employee it is very important to consult with a workers’ comp attorney to coordinate these benefits to ensure you receive every penny and benefit you are entitled to.
1. Heart & Lung Act: Covered employees include but are not limited to police officers, firefighters, parole agents, many corrections officers, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs. If you are a covered employee you can work for the state (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania) a county, (like Montgomery County) or a City like Philadelphia. Covered employees are entitled to 100% of their salary and medical benefits so long as the injury occurred “in the performance of one’s duties.” Regular comp only pays ⅔ of wage loss and has a max comp rate, while Heart & Lung does not. There are accidents that can happen at work which are covered by regular workers comp, but not Heart & Lung because they did not happen in the performance of one’s duties.
2. Act 534 & 632: Act 534 covers employees of State Hospitals, State Centers and Youth Development Centers under the Department of Human Services who are injured bya patient or resident. Act 632 covers employees of any State penal or correctional institutions who are injured by an inmate. These employees are entitled to 100% salary.
For employees covered by Heart & Lung and Acts 534/632, there are times our 20% attorneys’ fee will be paid for by your employer and not deducted from your wage loss benefits, so that you can receive 100% of wages and your attorney is paid on top of that. At Kaufman Workers’ Compensation Law, we regularly handle Heart & Lung claims in addition to Pennsylvania Workers Comp claims. We can also counsel you regarding different types of disability pensions you may be eligible for as an injured state employee or City of Philadelphia employee.
If you are a government employee, be it federal, state or local, it is very important to discuss your work injury with a workers comp lawyer who regularly handles workers’ comp claims for government workers and can explain these benefits to you. Many state and local employees are subject to collective bargaining agreements which may protect their health insurance and other employment benefits longer than non-union employees.