A claimant's receipt of pension benefits from a source other than the employer triggers the presumption that the claimant has withdrawn from the workforce.

The claimant testified that he signed up for Social Security old age benefits (he was 67), as well as a pension from the union, following a knee replacement for a work-related injury. The employer filed a suspension petition, arguing that the receipt of the union pension indicated that the claimant had voluntarily removed himself from the workforce. The workers' compensation judge and Appeal Board rejected this argument, concluding that the evidence did not show unequivocally that the claimant had voluntarily retired. In reversing the workers' compensation judge and Appeal Board, the Commonwealth Court held that a claimant who accepts a pension is presumed to have left the workforce, and the claimant in this case did not rebut that presumption by showing that he was actively seeking employment. The claimant in Duferco did not offer such testimony and, in fact, acknowledged he told his employer of his intention to retire. Citing Pennsylvania State University v. WCAB (Hensal), 948 A.2d 907 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2008), the court held that the claimant's activities triggered the presumption in favor of the employer that the claimant had voluntarily withdrawn from the workforce; thus, a suspension was appropriate.

Case Law Alert, 2nd Qtr 2010