Workers’ Compensation For Unionized Employees
In many ways, our firm’s history of handling union workers compensation cases ties directly to the unions, whose members we have represented for decades and continue to do so at this time.
YCL’s History With Union Employees
In 1961 our founding partner, Ken Yablonski, started practicing law out of a small office in downtown Washington Pennsylvania. Many of his clients were coal miners who had been injured, or who were suffering from black lung due to their employment in the coal mines.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Jock Yablonski, who was very involved as a union leader with the United Mine Workers of America, Ken dedicated his practice in large part to helping coal miners and other union employees who were injured or developed occupational diseases from their employment.
Over the years, our firm has grown and has continued to represent union members in numerous professions all over Western Pennsylvania. What started as a focus on coal miners developed into the representation into other union professions, including:
Healthcare Workers • Police Officers • School Teachers • Bus Drivers • Truck Drivers Warehouse Workers • Steelworkers • Groundskeepers • Electrical Workers • Clerical workers
Factory Workers • Maintenance Workers • Communications Workers
And many other individuals who, because of their particular profession, are members of a union.
Work injuries can affect all aspects of your life, and can have a lasting impact. The law can be confusing. That’s why we’ve developed the Layman’s Guide to Workers Compensation.
Get Our Free Layman’s Guide to Workers Compensation
Our office continues to work with several unions in Western Pennsylvania who recommend our firm to their members when they have questions or need representation either in work injury or personal injury situations. We are here to help union workers injured on the job.
Benefits of Being a Union Worker in a Workers Compensation Claim
In Pennsylvania, the workers’ compensation laws apply equally to union and nonunion members. However, as a member of the union, several potential benefits are available to you if you are injured on the job, including the following:
Job Protection
Many nonunion employees are surprised to learn that there are no specific job protections provided under the Pennsylvania worker’s compensation laws. As such, if an individual is injured and unable to perform their job, provided it is not done in a retaliatory fashion an employer is free to terminate that employee and replace them with someone who can physically do the job. Usually, the only job security available, where applicable, would be under the Family Medical Leave Act, but this protection is limited and is not always available to all employees.
Union members, however, often enjoy job protections provided to them under their collective bargaining agreement in the event of a work injury. Many contracts continue to protect employee’s jobs while they are off work for a work injury, either indefinitely or, in most cases, for a much longer period of time than the FMLA protections might provide. This often can be a significant factor for someone who is injured on the job who might consider trying to go back to work sooner than they should because of concerns about job security.
Healthcare Benefits
Nonunion employees frequently do not have healthcare benefits, or if they do are faced with having to pay the expense associated with those benefits out of their own pocket following a work injury. In a situation where the union workers compensation insurance carrier is disputing the claim, the need for alternative healthcare benefits to get treatment while the claim is being processed or litigated can become vitally important.
Most union members, on the other hand, do have healthcare benefits that are negotiated as part of their collective bargaining agreement, and often these benefits continue under the terms of the agreement for at least some period of time after an individual is off work for an injury. The ability to get necessary medical care, as well as necessary support from the treating physicians for the union workers compensation claim, is therefore often much easier for a union member than it is for a nonunion employee.
Short-Term Disability or Sickness and Accident Benefits
Short-term disability or sickness and accident benefits are rarely provided by employers to a nonunion employee. These types of benefits, however, are very common for most union employees. Benefits of this nature can be critical to an individual’s financial survival during a disputed union workers compensation claim. Union workers are often able to collect benefits of this nature, even if they are forced to fight over their workers’ compensation claim. This can be the difference between taking the time off work that you and your doctor feel is needed to recover as opposed to going back to work too soon while still injured.
Access to Knowledgeable and Responsive Attorneys
Finally, one benefit that is available to most union members, and certainly members of the unions that our office works with frequently, is the ability to pick up the phone and speak with an attorney about your situation whenever needed. Further, in the situation where you need an attorney, you can be assured that the attorney who your union has worked with in the past is known for being available when you have questions, treating people fairly, and getting good results.
Get Union Workers Compensation Legal Representation
At our office, you don’t need to be a union member to be represented by experienced and highly capable attorneys, but the fact that many unions have already decided that we are the firm to contact when their members need help should assure you that you are getting the type of representation you deserve.
We are here to help union workers get the legal representation they need for workers compensation. Contact us online today or by phone at 724-225-9130 to schedule a consultation.