Sponsored by:
Assemblyman LOUIS D. GREENWALD
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Provides certain volunteer and other workers with maximum compensation benefit for workers’ compensation claim regardless of outside employment.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning workers’ compensation benefits for certain volunteer and other workers and amending R.S.34:15-75.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.34:15-75 is amended to read as follows:
Compensation for injury [and], death, [either] or both, of any individual who is a volunteer [fireman] firefighter, county fire marshal, assistant county fire marshal, volunteer first aid or rescue squad worker, volunteer driver of any municipally-owned or operated ambulance, forest fire warden or forest fire fighter employed by the State of New Jersey, member of a board of education, special reserve or auxiliary [policeman] police officer doing volunteer public police duty under the control or supervision of any commission, council or any other governing body of any municipality, emergency management volunteer doing emergency management service, health care workers, public health workers and support services personnel registered with the Emergency Health Care Provider Registry pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-6) and doing emergency management service for the State, or any volunteer worker for the Division of Parks and Forestry, the Division of Fish and Wildlife, the New Jersey Natural Lands Trust or the New Jersey Historic Trust, that occurs during the course of performing that individual’s duties shall:
a. Be [based upon a weekly salary or compensation conclusively presumed to be received by such person in an amount sufficient to entitle him, or, in the event of his death, his dependents, to receive] equal to the maximum compensation [by this chapter] authorized by this chapter regardless of the individual’s outside employment status at the time of the injury or death; and
b. Not be subject to the seven-day waiting period provided in R.S.34:15-14.
(cf: P.L.2005, c.222, s.34)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that certain volunteer and other workers, including but not limited to firefighters and first aid or rescue squad workers, will receive the maximum workers’ compensation benefit for an injury or death regardless of whether the worker was employed outside of that position.
This bill is in response to the State Supreme Court case of Kocanowski v. Twp. of Bridgewater, 237 N.J. 3, 14 (2019), in which the Court held that the Legislature intended for “all volunteer firefighters [to receive] the maximum compensation allowed, regardless of current or previous income.” The bill is intended to clarify any ambiguity in the existing law as to the workers’ compensation entitlement of certain volunteer firefighters and other workers.