Pa. high court refuses to hear Wilkes-Barre’s appeal of arbitration award

Jan. 20--The Pennsylvania Supreme Court refused to hear the city's appeal of an arbitrator's award ordering it to pay for chiropractic treatment of injuries a former firefighter suffered on the job more than four years ago.

The city turned to the state's highest court after several failed attempts to vacate the arbitration award.

Wilkes-Barre city attorney Tim Henry said he had not seen the court's order, which was issued Wednesday.

"We'll be reviewing the decision with our labor counsel and proceeding accordingly," Henry said Thursday.

The firefighter at the center of the case, former Capt. Joseph Perlis, voluntarily resigned from the Wilkes-Barre Fire Department in October 2013.

Mike Bilski, president of Local 104 of the International Association of Firefighters that represents city firefighters, said the arbitration involved payment for just a few months of treatment for Perlis.

"I'm just glad it's finally over," Bilski said. "We knew we were right from the beginning."

He did not have the treatment cost available.

The case was last heard by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, which affirmed the decision from Luzerne County Court.

According to the Commonwealth Court opinion of April 5, 2016: Perlis was injured in September 2012 while he was on duty. He underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff, followed by physical therapy and chiropractic treatments. During his recuperation, the city paid his salary and for all of his medical and surgical expenses. He was awarded workers' compensation benefits in October 2012.

The city's workers' compensation carrier reviewed Perlis' case and determined that his chiropractic treatments "were unreasonable and unnecessary" as of May 2013. Perlis stopped his physical therapy after the carrier's review. The union filed a grievance in August 2013 alleging the city violated the collective bargaining agreement when it stopped paying for Perlis' treatment.

The case went to arbitration and, in April 2014, an arbitrator determined the city violated the union contract when it refused to pay for the chiropractic treatment. The arbitrator ordered that the city pay for the treatment given between August and October 2013.

The city turned to county court to vacate the award and lost in July 2015. The next step was to appeal to the Commonwealth Court, which limited its review of the case to determine: whether the matter should have gone to arbitration; whether the arbitrator exceeded his powers; and whether there were any constitutional deprivations.

A three-member panel of the Commonwealth Court determined the points raised by the city were outside the scope of the court's review.

Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott

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