Riddle v. WCAB (Allegheny City Electric, Inc.)

In Riddle v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Allegheny City Electric, Inc.), 940 A.2d 1251 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2008), the Court addressed the language of Section 306(b)(2) and concluded that, in seeking modification of benefits for a claimant who resided outside of the Commonwealth, the employer could establish job availability via a labor market survey in nearby areas in which the claimant resides as opposed to areas where the injury occurred. There, the employer's modification petition was granted and, on appeal, the claimant argued that the Board erred because the jobs identified in the labor market survey were not available in his labor market. The claimant argued that because he did not reside in the Commonwealth, under Section 306(b)(2), the earning power assessment was required to have been performed where the injury occurred, in Pittsburgh, which was the "usual employment area." Instead, the employer identified jobs in Wheeling, West Virginia, which was the geographical area in which the claimant had a residence and for which his attorney requested the labor market survey be conducted. The Court agreed with the Board that there is no case law "which interprets the Act so as to preclude an employer from performing a labor market survey in the area of the claimant's residence." Id. at 1255. Thus, because "the 1996 amendments to the Act were designed in part to reduce workers' compensation costs and restore efficiency to the compensation system," and because the claimant had a residence in Wheeling, West Virginia, the employer was not precluded from attempting to establish job availability in that area, rather than in the location where the claimant's injury occurred. Id. at 1254-55.