Jennifer Jackiw v. Soft Pretzel Franchise (Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board)

Summary

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board’s decision calculating Jennifer Jackiw’s specific-loss benefits under the remedial benefit calculation in Section 306(a) of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. The court declined to revisit Walton v. Cooper Hosiery Co., holding that longstanding precedent requires specific-loss and total-disability benefit rates to be calculated consistently. Judge Wojcik dissented, concluding that the plain language of Section 306(c) provides a separate and potentially more generous minimum benefit schedule for specific losses.

Holdings

1. Under controlling Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court precedent, the benefit rate for a specific loss under Section 306(c) is calculated in the same manner as the rate for total disability under Section 306(a). Where the standard calculation is less than fifty percent of the statewide average weekly wage, the Section 306(a) remedial calculation applies, including payment of ninety percent of the claimant’s average weekly wage when applicable.
2. The court declined to revisit or overrule Walton because Claimant did not demonstrate a compelling reason to abandon approximately forty years of precedent.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board erred by affirming the application of Walton v. Cooper Hosiery Co. and calculating specific-loss benefits under Section 306(a), including the ninety-percent-of-average-weekly-wage remedial calculation.
2. Whether the Commonwealth Court should reconsider or overrule Walton.

Disposition

affirmed