Mayo v. Department of Public Welfare

In Mayo v. Department of Public Welfare, 680 A.2d 1 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1996), the Court noted that neither the Board, nor a WCJ has subject matter jurisdiction over proceedings that relate to disability benefits other than workers' compensation benefits. Mayo, 680 A.2d at 4. The Court ultimately held in Mayo that a claimant and the Department of Public Welfare may enter into a settlement agreement whereupon the claimant's continued rights to benefits under Act 534, Act of December 8, 1959, P.L. 1718, as amended, 61 P.S. 951-952, may be contingent on the final determination of a modification petition concerning workers' compensation benefits. Mayo, 680 A.2d at 4-5. The Court reasoned that, in that case, the workers' compensation authorities never actually exercised subject matter jurisdiction over the termination of the claimant's Act 534 benefits. Id. at 4.