Act 534/632 Claims

If you work for a Pennsylvania state mental health institution or related facility, you may be covered by Act 534. If you work for a Pennsylvania state penal or correctional institution, you may be covered by Act 632. These laws can require the Commonwealth to pay your full salary (at your pre-injury rate) and medical expenses when you are disabled by a qualifying work injury.

Act 534 benefits are separate from benefits under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. Under the act, you are entitled to benefits as long as the work-related “disability” prevents you from returning to the Department’s employment at your pre-injury salary. Section 1 does not require the actual availability of a position with a Department to be eligible for benefits.

What is Act 534?

Act 534 provides enhanced wage and medical benefits for certain Commonwealth employees—commonly including employees in state mental hospitals and other covered facilities—when a qualifying work injury prevents them from returning to work at their pre-injury salary.

Key features (high level):

Full salary continuation (not the partial wage-loss typical of workers’ comp) during qualifying disability.
Medical treatment paid for the work injury.
Benefits are generally tied to whether the disability prevents return at a salary equal to what was earned at the time of injury.

What is Act 632?

Act 632 is the parallel protection most commonly associated with employees of state penal and correctional institutions (including corrections staff). It provides for payment of salary and medical/hospital expenses when an employee is injured in the performance of duties under qualifying circumstances.

Key features (high level):

Full salary continuation at the pre-injury rate while disabled from qualifying injury.
Medical and hospital expenses for the injury paid as provided by the statute.
Often applies in scenarios involving harm caused by an inmate/detainee in the course of employment.

Act 534/632 vs. Workers’ Compensation

Act 534 and Act 632 are separate from benefits under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. In many cases, workers’ compensation still matters—these “Act” benefits can interact with workers’ comp and may trigger additional legal issues (including how wage benefits are categorized).

Even when the injury happened at work, employers and administrators may dispute:

Whether the injury falls within Act 534 vs. Act 632 coverage (the correct statute matters).
Whether the employee remains “disabled” from returning at the pre-injury salary level.
Whether offered work is truly comparable and consistent with restrictions. (This is often fact-specific and heavily documented in medical records.)

At Brennan Law Offices, we help clients pursue the benefits they are entitled to under Act 534 and Act 632, including building the medical and employment record needed to prove ongoing eligibility and challenging improper denials or terminations.

Free consultation. Contact us to discuss your job role, the incident, medical restrictions, and the benefit path that best fits your situation.

At Brennan Law Offices, we want to help fight for the compensation you deserve under Act 534/632.