ASSEMBLY LABOR COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

ASSEMBLY, No. 1847

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED: MAY 20, 1996

 

      The Assembly Labor Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 1847.

      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.