HARRISBURG, Pa. (May 16, 2023) — The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Workers’ Compensation Law Section will present the 2023 Irvin Stander Memorial Award to Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (WCAB) Chairman Alfonso Frioni Jr. and Commissioner Robert A. Krebs during the section’s annual fall meeting Oct. 12-13 at Hershey Lodge, Hershey.
The award is named in honor of the late Judge Irvin Stander and is presented to an attorney whose dedication to the administration of workers’ compensation law, and whose professionalism and regard for clients and colleagues serves as an example to others.
Chairman Frioni
Chairman Frioni was appointed a commissioner to the WCAB by Gov. Thomas J. Ridge in 1996. He was reappointed by Govs. Edward G. Rendell and Thomas W. Corbett and has served as chairman of the board since June 2011.
Prior to his current appointment, Frioni served as in-house counsel for Travelers, where he specialized in workers’ compensation, occupational disease, Federal Black Lung and longshoremen’s cases. Previously, he served in a similar capacity as an associate at Tillman & Thompson. Later, he served as an attorney-advisor for the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Administrative Law Judges. Following law school, Frioni served as a staff assistant to the late U.S. Sen. H. John Heinz III. While there, he participated in the National Administrative Law Moot Court Competition.
Frioni serves on the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Rules Committee, the Workers’ Compensation Liaison Committee and the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board.
Within the PBA, Frioni is a member of the Workers’ Compensation Law Section and served on its Centennial Committee at which time he co-authored A History of The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board: 1972-2015. In addition, he has been a guest lecturer for numerous Pennsylvania Bar Institute programs on workers’ compensation.
Frioni received his J.D. from University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Commissioner Krebs
Commissioner Krebs was appointed to the WCAB by Gov. Edward G. Rendell in 2004 and is a past chair. He was a member of Gov. Rendell’s judicial issues transition team and Gov. Thomas W. Wolf’s labor and industry transition team.
Prior to his appointment, Krebs was a trial attorney in the Pittsburgh area for 20 years. He specialized in commercial law, personal injury and workers’ compensation cases.
Krebs contributed to the 2006 legislative amendments to the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. He also contributed to the 2014 revisions to the Special Rules of Administrative Practice and Procedure before the WCAB. Additionally, he has served as chair of various committees for the Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, Federal Bar Association Western District of Pennsylvania Chapter and Allegheny County Bar Association.
In 2015, Krebs received the Duquesne University School of Law Adjunct Professor Award for outstanding teaching. Frequently, he lectures to various groups about appellate practice and workers’ compensation.
Within the PBA, Krebs is a member of the Appellate Advocacy Committee and Workers’ Compensation Law Section. Currently, he is editor of the Workers’ Compensation Law Section Newsletter. Previously, he served on the section’s Centennial Committee, co-authoring A History of The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board: 1972-2015.
Krebs earned his J.D. from Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio, and his B.A. from The Pennsylvania State University. He studied economics and political science at University of Exeter in England.