In 2006, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed a series of workers’ compensation reforms known as Act 147. Perhaps the most significant aspect of Act 147 was the provision that created the mandatory mediation program. Until Act 147 was passed, mediations were strictly voluntary. Moreover, there were only a handful of judges who performed voluntary mediations because there was no incentive for a judge to mediate the cases of other judges beyond good will. Nonetheless, the mediations that did take place were overwhelmingly successful.
Sensing a good thing, the legislature attempted to foster a culture of cooperation by instituting mandatory mediation, which would take place in all cases unless it would be deemed “futile” at the discretion of the workers’ compensation judge on a case-by-case basis. It was initially unclear whether the mandatory mediation would be accepted by all involved. While perhaps the majority of mediations were dismissed as futile immediately following the enactment of Act 147, sometimes based only on the unwillingness of the employer to provide authority, they are now more universally implemented and more successful.
