In its simplest terms, a “mediation” in a Pennsylvania workers’ compensation case is a meeting between the parties in a dispute and an independent mediator, who is almost always another PA workers’ compensation judge. The purpose of the meeting is to determine if the parties can agree on a fair way ...
How to Get Accurate Information About Your Rights Under Workers’ Compensation
Most workers never even think about workers’ compensation until they are injured. At that point, the worker is overwhelmed with being injured. Most information about their injury and claim is being provided by their employer or their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company. Unfortunately, ...
Court Decision Puts ‘Medical Only’ NCPs on the Clock
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court recently issued a decision that drastically affects an injured worker’s entitlement to wage loss benefits following an employer’s acceptance of a “medical only” claim. In Sloan v W.C.A.B., the Court held that a claim for wage loss benefits following an ...
Understanding Contested Adoptions in Pennsylvania
Adopting a child is a time of great joy. Along with that joy can come mountains of paperwork, however, as one works through the legal process of adoption. This is especially true in cases where an adoption is “contested.” In any adoption, the rights of the birth parent must be terminated before ...
Dividing Marital Assets in No-Fault Divorce – What’s It Worth, and What Do I Get?
The adoption of no-fault divorce laws in Pennsylvania changed the primary focus of the divorce process from determining which spouse was at fault to determining the value of and dividing marital assets. Under the former system, divorce proceedings focused mostly upon which spouse was at fault, i.e., ...
Do I Have a Common Law Marriage and Will the Social Security Administration Acknowledge It?
In some places in the United States, a couple can get married without a marriage license and without a civil or religious ceremony. This type of marriage is called a “common law marriage.” Knowing whether you are (or were) common law married, and knowing how to prove it, can be very ...
Partner Alaine Williams Interviewed by CBS on Supreme Court Case That Could Affect Philly Unions
A leading authority on public employee labor law, our partner Alaine Williams recently shared with CBS3 legal insight into an important case before the U.S. Supreme Court that could affect Philadelphia unions. Friedrichs v. the California Teachers Association challenges a 39-year-old decision ...
Temple Adjunct Professors Win Union Representation
Adjunct faculty members at Temple University are starting a new year with a new sense of job security and respect. On Nov. 25, 2015, Temple’s adjunct faculty voted in favor of union representation by a more than two to one majority. The 1,400 adjunct faculty joined the American Federation of ...
Cadillac Tax Delayed: What It Means for Unions
In response to growing concerns raised by both labor and management groups, Congress passed a law in December 2015 that delayed the start of the Affordable Care Act’s “Cadillac Tax” for two years, until Jan.1, 2020. What is the Cadillac Tax? The Cadillac Tax is a provision of the Affordable ...
IRS Extends Deadlines for ACA Reporting
The IRS recently extended two Affordable Care Act (ACA) deadlines for employers and other providers of health coverage to report minimum essential coverage and for employers to report offers of health coverage to full-time employees. The ACA requires providers of “minimum essential coverage” ...