Special Workers' Compensation Alert - New Jersey

On April, 19, 2021, New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy, signed into law bills S-2476/A-3998 which affects workers’ compensation dependency benefits.  Specifically, the bill provides additional weekly supplemental benefits for dependency benefits going to to survivors of essential employees who died from work-related COVID-19.  The supplement benefits are paid by the Second Injury Fund and are essentially a cost of living adjustment that will be recalculated every year.

Most importantly, the bill requires that the employer notify the Division of Workers’ Compensation within 60 days of the eligibility determination of the benefit.  If the employer fails to do so, then the liability shifts from the Second Injury Fund to the employer to pay the ongoing supplemental dependency benefits.

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