Workers Comp
What is Protected Under New Jersey Worker’s Compensation
Let’s look at what is protected under New Jersey worker’s compensation law and the landmark case of Keim v. Above All Termite & Pest Control. The last thing anyone wants to worry about at work is getting hurt. People just want to do their job, get through the day, and head home. But sometimes injuries occur in the workplace. When this happens, employees are typically eligible for worker’s compensation. However, there are cases in which the details of how or where someone was injured could make a worker’s eligibility for recovery...
Read More....Volunteer Wins Workers Compensation Case Before New Jersey Supreme Court
Workers compensation is a necessity amongst most businesses, but with a non-profit charity job this sometimes may not be the case. Have you heard the expression, “no good deed goes unpunished”? Well, that was almost the case for one New Jersey woman. In Goulding v. NJ Friendship House, Inc., the Plaintiff, a cook and teacher for a New Jersey non-profit, worked a “Family Fun Day” organized and hosted by her employer. All of the employees who worked at the event had volunteered and were not required by the non-profit to do so.
During the event,...
Read More....COVID-19 and Protections for Employees and Their Families
Even before the current COVID crisis, most employees were afforded some protections by their employer. For example, the New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA), coupled with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), entitles certain employees to twelve weeks of paid leave within a twelve-month period without losing their jobs. However, aside from the employee and employer having to meet certain eligibility requirements, the paid leave is only available for instances where the employee must care (1) for a newly born or ...
Read More....Subrogation Claims by New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Carriers Permitted Against PIP Carriers
Recently, the New Jersey Supreme Court expressly determined that Workers’ Compensation benefits are to work synergistically with Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits that are required of all New Jersey automobile insurance policies by New Jersey’s Automobile Insurance Cost Reduction Act (AICRA). Workers’ Compensation is often considered an “exclusive remedy” for injuries sustained while acting in the course and scope of employment. However, in the case of New Jersey Transit Corporation v. Sanchez, the Court carved ...
Read More....How Is Employment Status Determined For Purposes of NJ Workers’ Compensation Coverage?
A Plaintiff who recently received a workers’ compensation award saw his judgment vacated on appeal because the trial judge did not make any witness credibility findings or apply his factual findings to the appropriate law. In that case, the Appellate Division stressed the importance of analyzing 12 factors when determining whether an employment relationship exists and also of assessing the credibility of witnesses whose testimony conflicts. Finding the record devoid of this analysis, the Appellate Division vacated and remanded...
Read More....Recent Case Analyzes New Jersey Pregnant Worker’s Fairness Act
A pregnant police officer who challenged her employer’s maternity standard operating procedure (SOP) will be able to proceed with her lawsuit after the New Jersey Appellate Division reversed summary judgment for her employer. At the heart of the claim was a provision of the SOP that required pregnant officers to use all of their accumulated paid-leave time as part of the SOP, while non-pregnant officers who requested light-duty could request a waiver from a similar provision.
The plaintiff, Kathleen Delanoy (Kathleen), was a police...
Read More....New Jersey Woman’s Claim for Workers’ Compensation Total Disability Benefits Under Odd Lot Doctrine Denied
A petitioner in a workers’ compensation case who argued for total disability under New Jersey’s odd-lot doctrine, lost when the judge found that both her and her expert witness to not be credible. On appeal, the Appellate Division affirmed the decision out of deference to the workers’ compensation judge.
In this case, the petitioner, Floralba Avendano (Floralba), injured her back while unloading merchandise for her employer, Target. Floralba was fifty years old at the time, and was originally from Colombia. She initially settled...
Read More....A Synopsis of NJ Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Workers’ Compensation provides benefits to an employee who suffers a personal injury or death arising out of, and in the course of, his or her employment. If the employee suffers an injury resulting in death, his or her dependents may receive the benefits.
The focus of Workers’ Compensation benefits is to compensate for the loss of the ability to work, as opposed to pain and suffering, which is actionable through a civil tort claim. Therefore, the benefits are focused mostly on losses stemming from the inability to work. If the injury ...
Read More....New Jersey Expands Wage Laws to Create Greater Penalties and Liability for Employers
On August 6, 2019, New Jersey enacted a new law increasing penalties and liability for employers who commit wage violations. The law revises New Jersey’s Wage and Hour Law (WHL), Wage Collection Law (WCL), and the Wage Payment Law (WPL). The main changes of this law affect anti-retaliation provisions, statutes of limitations, penalties, administrative power and oversight, and distribution of wage rights information. In addition, the new law introduces criminal liability to employers who commit wage rights violations or take ...
Read More....Medical Marijuana is a Valid Benefit Under Workers’ Compensation Law Says New Jersey Appellate Court
On January 23, 2020, the New Jersey Appellate Division ruled in the case of Hager v. M&K Construction that New Jersey workers’ compensation insurance carriers cannot refuse to provide reimbursement for legitimately prescribed medical marijuana as part of a workers’ compensation coverage on the grounds that reimbursement would conflict with federal law––namely the Controlled Substance Act (CSA). Even though the CSA makes it a federal crime to manufacture, possess, or distribute marijuana, the New Jersey Appellate...
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