The Impact of the Heart and Lung Act.
Worker’s compensation ensures that employees disabled due to a work-related injury or disease will be compensated for lost wages and provides necessary medical treatment to return them to the workforce.
The Heart and Lung Act has played a substantial role in worker’s compensation in the state of Pennsylvania. The reason for this is that the Heart and Lung act was designed to compensate only temporary disability. As such, if a person recovers from their injury or their disability is deemed to be permanent, a person can no longer be covered under the Heart and Lung Act.
Benefits under the Heart and Lung Act are not limited to diseases of the heart and lung and that those who are covered by this law sustain work injuries, they become entitled to workers compensation benefits as well.
Differences between the Worker’s Compensation Act and the Heart and Lung Act.
The differences between the Worker’s Compensation act and the Heart and Lung act are paramount. The Worker’s Compensation act seeks to compensate the injured worker for wage-loss if he or she suffers a loss of earning power, whether it be temporary or permanent.
But, as previously written, the Heart and Lung act is meant to compensate only temporary disability. Benefits from the Heart and Lung act are tax free as well. Monetary compensation that was earned from overtime or extra jobs are included under workers’ compensation benefits, yet they are not included under the Health and Lung act. (1)
Who Is Entitled to Benefits Under the Heart and Lung Act?
A broad range of state a municipal worker who are injured during the performance of their duties are entitled to benefits.
This includes but is not limited to, any member of the State Police Force, any enforcement officer or investigator employed by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control the parole agents, enforcement officers and investigators of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, Capitol Police officers; correction employes employed by the Department of Corrections, whose principal duty is the care, custody and control of inmates; psychiatric security aides employed by the Department of Human Services and the Department of Corrections, whose principal duty is the care, custody, and control of the criminally insane; drug enforcement agents of the Office of Attorney General whose principal duty is the enforcement of the drug laws of the Commonwealth; special agents of the Office of Attorney General whose principal duty is the enforcement of the criminal laws of the Commonwealth.
However, volunteer firefighters and correctional officer of county prisons are not covered under the Heart and Lung act.
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Reference:
(1) PA General Assembly, Heart and Lung Act, https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/LI/uconsCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&yr=1935&sessInd=0&smthLwInd=0&act=0193.
