REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• Posted notice in the December 4, 2017 issue of the register notice of proposed re adoption with amendments of NJAC 13:73 Workers' Compensation Insurance Coverage for Horse Racing Industry Employees.
• Posted notice of adoption of maximum worker' compensation benefit rates by adopting Subchapter 1, General Provisions Section 12:235-1.6 effective December 18, 2017 for injuries occurring in calendar year 2018.  The rule as adopted is: SUB-CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS: 12:235-1.6    Maximum workers' compensation benefit rates
  • (a) In accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 34:15-12. a, the maximum workers' compensation benefit rate for temporary disability, [page=4013] permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, and dependency is hereby promulgated as being $ 903.00 per week.
  • (b) The maximum compensation shall be effective as to injuries occurring in the calendar year 2018.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• This notice announces additional statewide steps by the New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation to address the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis in New Jersey.  In accordance with Governor Murphy’s previous Executive Orders, all N.J. Workers’ Compensation Courts shall continue to be closed to the public until Monday, July 13, 2020. To view this notice, go to https://www.nj.gov/labor/wc/wc_index.html

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• Published a notice to the New Jersey Bar. This notice announces additional statewide steps by the New Jersey Division of Workers’ Compensation to address the ongoing public health crisis surrounding the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in New Jersey. In accordance with Governor Murphy’s Executive Orders to slow the spread of the virus, all N.J. workers’ compensation courts shall continue to be closed to the public and to nonessential court personnel until Tuesday, May 26, 2020. All twenty-six Judges of Compensation previously assigned by the Director and Chief Judge of Compensation shall continue to hear as many workers’ compensation matters as possible in their assigned vicinage by telephonic conferencing, and if possible by video conferencing, including all emergent and non-emergent matters, including trials, pre-trial conferences, motions for medical and temporary benefits, general motions, and settlements. There will be no in-person Workers’ Compensation Court proceedings (except for extremely limited emergent matters and certain ongoing motions for medical and temporary benefits and trials, in which case social distancing will be enforced). Court offices will remain closed for in-person submissions. Filings will continue to be accepted electronically through COURTS On-line. Please contact each individual workers’ compensation court if you have questions about a scheduled hearing, motion, conference, or other matter by email, fax, or telephone.  To view this notice, go to https://www.nj.gov/labor/wc/content/notices.html#covid19_0526.
• Effective May 11, 2020, in addition to the twenty-six (26) Judges of Compensation previously assigned as per the Division’s Notice to the Bar of April 28, 2020, the following three (3) workers’ compensation judges shall hear as many workers’ compensation matters as possible in the assigned vicinages by telephonic conferencing, and if possible by video conferencing, including all emergent and non-emergent matters, including trials, pre-trial conferences, motions for medical and temporary benefits, general motions, and settlements: Hon. Sarah Minor - Bridgeton Vicinage, Hon. D. Gayle Loftis - Mt. Arlington Vicinage, and Hon. Dawn Shanahan - Trenton Vicinage.  To view this notice, go to https://www.nj.gov/labor/wc/wc_index.html.
• All N.J. Workers’ Compensation Courts shall continue to be closed to the public and to non-essential court personnel until Monday, June 8, 2020.  Judges of Compensation shall continue to hear as many workers’ compensation matters as possible by telephonic and video conferencing, including emergent and non-emergent matters, such as, trials, pre-trial conferences, motions for medical and temporary benefits, general motions, and settlements.  There will be no in-person Workers’ Compensation Court proceedings except limited emergent matters and limited ongoing trials and motions for medical and temporary benefits, in which case masks shall be worn by all parties and social distancing shall be enforced. Court offices will remain closed for in-person submissions. Filings will continue to be accepted electronically through COURTS On-line.  Please contact each individual workers’ compensation court if you have questions about a scheduled hearing, motion, conference, or other matter by email, fax, or telephone.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• In accordance with Governor Murphy’s Executive Orders to slow the spread of the virus, all N.J. workers’ compensation courts shall continue to be closed to the public and to non-essential court personnel until May 11, 2020. All Administrative Supervisory Judges and Supervising Judges shall continue to be designated by the N.J. Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the N.J. Division of Workers’ Compensation as essential personnel and shall hear as many Workers’ Compensation matters as possible in their home vicinage by telephonic conferencing, and if possible by video conferencing, including all emergent matters and the following non-emergent matters, pre-trial conferences, general motions for medical and temporary benefits, and settlements by affidavit.  To view the notice, go to https://www.nj.gov/labor/wc/wc_index.html.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• Due to COVID-19 the Division of Workers’ Comp is operating with a skeleton crew. All phones are offline. Filings continue to be accepted electronically through COURTS On-line.
• In accordance with Governor Murphy’s Executive Orders 107 and 119, to slow the spread of the virus, all N.J. workers’ compensation courts shall continue to be closed to the public and to non-essential court personnel until April 27, 2020. To view the notice, go to https://www.nj.gov/labor/wc/content/notices.html#Ct_close_033020.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• On December 31, 2019, Marie Rose Bloomer, Esq., resigned from the N.J. Division of Workers' Compensation's Commission on Judicial Performance. Effective January 1, 2020, and in accordance with N.J.A.C. 12:235-10.5, I have appointed Michelle G. Haas, Esq., of the Law Office of Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst & Doukas, LLP, to serve on the Commission for the remainder of Ms. Bloomer's term, which expires on August 31,2020.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

•  Governor Murphy signed into law Senate Bill S1967 (N.J.S.A. 34:15-95.6) providing supplemental benefits to the dependents of public safety workers payable by the Second Injury Fund. Under this law, in order to process these benefits, all insurance carriers and self-insured employers responsible for the payment of workers’ compensation death benefits to dependents of public safety workers shall provide the N.J. Division of Workers’ Compensation - Office of Special Compensation Funds with the identities, including current mailing addresses, of said dependents, together with a copy of the formal award of dependency benefits and the calculation of the supplemental benefits, no later than the 60th day after the date on which it is determined that the payment of supplemental benefits to these dependent is required pursuant to this legislation. Failure to timely provide said information, including the correct calculation of benefits, to the Office of Special Compensation Funds resulting in the payment of an incorrect amount of benefits, shall result in the individual insurance carrier or self-insured employer’s liability for payment of said supplemental benefits. This law only provides for payment of supplemental benefits to those dependents who were formally awarded dependency benefits by a Judge of Compensation in the N.J. Division of Workers’ Compensation. If dependents of a public safety worker have not received a formal dependency award from a N.J. Judge of Compensation, but rather are receiving voluntary tendered dependency benefits, and wish to qualify for the new supplemental benefits, a Dependency Claim Petition to Convert Voluntary Tender to Formal Judgment Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 34:15-95.6 must be filed with the N.J. Division of Workers’ Compensation. Then, a claim for supplemental benefits will be processed as set forth above. To view this announcement, go to https://www.nj.gov/labor/wc/content/notices.html#Supp_Ben .

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• Posted notice of 2020 maximum workers' compensation benefits rates for temporary disability, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, and dependency under the Workers' Compensation Law.  Because a 60-day comment period has been provided in this notice of proposal, this notice is excerpted from the rulemaking calendar requirement pursuant to N.J.A.C. 1:30-3.3(a) 5. The proposed amendment will ensure that payments to workers' compensation recipients entitled to maximum benefits will increase in line with the upward trend of wages in the State's economy, thus, preserving the real purchasing power of their benefits. The proposed amendments will increase from $921.00 to $945.00, the weekly benefit rate received by individuals eligible for the maximum weekly benefit rate for temporary disability, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, and dependency under the Workers' Compensation Law. The 2020 maximum benefit rate represents a 2.6 percent increase in the current maximum benefit rate.

REGULATORY ACTIVITY:

• Governor Phil Murphy released a comprehensive report from the Task Force on Employee Misclassification, vowing to intensify efforts to curtail the widespread and illegal practice of misclassifying workers as independent contractors instead of employees, which cheats some workers out of benefits and wages, hurts law-abiding business owners, and costs the state tens of millions of dollars a year in lost employment-related tax revenue.  To view this notice and report, go to https://www.nj.gov/labor/lwdhome/press/2019/20190709_missclassreport.shtml.
• Published that the Maximum Compensation Rate for 2020 is $945.00.  The Minimum Compensation Rate for 2020 is $252.00.

LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS:

• Senate Bill 716

This bill creates a rebuttable presumption of workers’ compensation coverage for public safety workers and other employees in certain circumstances.  The bill affirms that if, in the course of employment, a public safety worker is exposed to a serious communicable disease or a biological warfare or epidemic-related pathogen or biological toxin, all care or treatment of the worker, including services needed to ascertain whether the worker contracted the disease, shall be compensable under workers' compensation, even if the worker is found not to have contracted the disease.  If the worker is found to have contracted a disease, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that any injury, disability, chronic or corollary illness or death caused by the disease is compensable under workers' compensation.  The bill affirms workers’ compensation coverage for any injury, illness or death of any employee, including an employee who is not a public safety worker, arising from the administration of a vaccine related to threatened or potential bioterrorism or epidemic as part of an inoculation program in connection with the employee’s employment or in connection with any governmental program or recommendation for the inoculation of workers. The bill creates a rebuttable presumption that any condition or impairment of health of a public safety worker which may be caused by exposure to cancer-causing radiation or radioactive substances is a compensable occupational disease under workers' compensation if the worker was exposed to a carcinogen, or the cancer-causing radiation or radioactive substance, in the course of employment. Employers are required to maintain records of instances of the workers deployed where the presence of known carcinogens was indicated by documents provided to local fire or police departments under the “Worker and Community Right to Know Act,” P.L.1983, c.315 (C.34:5A-1 et seq.) and where events occurred which could result in exposure to those carcinogens. In the case of any firefighter with seven or more years of service, the bill creates a rebuttable presumption that, if the firefighter suffers an injury, illness or death which may be caused by cancer, the cancer is a compensable occupational disease. The bill provides that, with respect to all of the rebuttable presumptions of coverage, employers may require workers to undergo, at employer expense, reasonable testing, evaluation and monitoring of worker health conditions relevant to determining whether exposures or other presumed causes are actually linked to the deaths, illnesses or disabilities, and further provides that the presumptions of compensability are not adversely affected by failures of employers to require testing, evaluation or monitoring.  The public safety workers covered by the bill include paid or volunteer emergency, correctional, fire, police and certain medical personnel.  Effective Date July 8, 2019.

LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS:

• Senate Bill 1967

The enacted legislation established cost of living adjustments to benefits paid to injured public employees.  Effective Date May 13, 2019.