Ryan v. WCAB (Port Erie Plastics, Inc.)

In Ryan v. Workmen's Compensation Appeal Board (Port Erie Plastics, Inc.), 162 Pa. Commw. 411, 639 A.2d 866 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1994), the Court applied the Kachinski standard to affirm the Board's grant of an employer's termination petition based on the claimant's refusal of employer's offer of employment in a "no-work" position. The Court noted that "an employer is not required to produce medical evidence of a change in condition when the modification petition is premised not on a change in physical condition, but on the fact that the employer made a medically approved position available to the claimant." Ryan, 639 A.2d at 868. Instead, an employer is required to show that "job offers were within a claimant's physical capabilities and then available." Id. In Ryan, the claimant's physician approved him for no-duty work, and the employer created such a position for him. The claimant reported to work at the "no-work" position, and then left after an hour because she began suffering neck pain. In affirming the Board's decision, the Court reasoned that: Although the "no work position" offered by Employer was irregular, we cannot conclude that said position was not "available" within the meaning of the Kachinski sic. Moreover, the position was made available by Employer in response to Claimant's physician's release. Accordingly, we hold that it was not error for the Board to conclude that the referee improperly denied Employer's termination petition. Id.