ASSEMBLY, No. 1847

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

INTRODUCED MAY 2, 1996

 

 

By Assemblymen ROMA and ZISA

 

 

An Act concerning the retention of workers' compensation records and amending P.L.1953, c.94.

 

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

    1. Section 1 of P.L.1953, c.94 (C.34:15-121) is amended to read as follows:

    1. Any records of, or pertaining to, [workmen's] workers' compensation formal cases, wherein original claim petitions have been on file for [twenty] 45 or more years, may be destroyed by the Division of [Workmen's] Workers' Compensation in the State Department of Labor [and Industry]; provided, the Commissioner of Labor [and Industry] shall approve such destruction.

(cf: P.L.1953, c.94, s.1)

 

    2. Section 5 of P.L.1953, c.94 (C.34:15-125) is amended to read as follows:

    5. Any records of, or pertaining to, [workmen's] workers' compensation formal cases, which have not been on file for [twenty] 45 or more years but which have been microfilmed or retained in full in other media, provided such microfilms or information retained in other media shall be preserved in full and arranged for convenient examination, may be destroyed by the Division of [Workmen's] Workers' Compensation; provided, the Commissioner of Labor [and Industry] shall approve such destruction.

(cf: P.L.1953, c.94, s.5)

 

    3. Section 6 of P.L.1953, c.94 (C. 34:15-126) is amended to read as follows:

    6. Any microfilm made or information retained in other media by the Division of [Workmen's] Workers' Compensation pursuant to law, or a certified copy of such microfilm or information retained in other media, shall have the same force and effect as the original in any court or public proceeding and shall be evidential in like manner and to the same effect as though the original record had been there produced and proved.

(cf: P.L.1953, c.94, s.6)

 

    4. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

    This bill amends the workers' compensation law to increase the period for the retention of records from 20 years to 45 years and permit the retention of records in other media, so long as they are preserved in full and arranged for convenient examination. The bill is designed to afford employers an opportunity to take advantage of payment credits available for treatments made of similar claims. Current law providing for the retention of records for 20 years is inadequate to serve this purpose because R.S.34:15-34 provides that there is no statute of limitations for filing an occupational disease claim. This bill will enable records to be kept until retirement age for most persons, which covers the period during which most people make workers' compensation claims.

    The bill also amends the law to permit the retention of records in media other than the original documents or microfilmed records, which are the only two media in which the law currently permits records to be retained. The current requirements of the law pertaining to microfilmed records would also apply, under the bill, to records maintained in other media.

 

 

                             

 

Concerns retention of workers' compensation records.