Court Rejects Worker's Constitutional Challenge to IRE, Modification of Status

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected a worker’s constitutional challenge to his impairment rating evaluation and the modification of his disability status. Steven Conrad worked for the Department of Transportation. In July 2005, the DOT accepted liability for Conrad’s back injury and began paying him temporary total disability benefits. In September 2011, Conrad underwent an impairment rating evaluation, which resulted in an impairment rating of less than 50%. Under Pennsylvania law at the time, an employer could request an IRE for a worker who had collected 104 weeks...