ASSEMBLY LABOR COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 2617

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JANUARY 25, 2021

      The Assembly Labor Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 2617.

      This bill requires an employer with at least 50 employees to provide a hiring preference to an employee who was injured in a work-related injury, has reached maximum medical improvement, and cannot return to the employee’s former position with that employer.  The employer is only required to provide the hiring preference if the employee can perform the essential duties of an existing, unfilled position.

      The bill does not require an employer to create a new position for the injured employee, nor does it require the employer to remove another employee from an existing but filled position to accommodate the injured employee.

      As reported, this bill is identical to Senate Bill No. 2998 of the 2020-2021 session.