Know your rights under Workers ’ Compensation Law
Law enforcement is a dangerous occupation . It is inevitable that it often results in injuries to law enforcement officers . The New Jersey Workers ’ Compensation Act , N . J . S . A . 34:15-7 , et seq ., is the means by which employees are compensated when they are injured outside of , and in the course of , their employment . It is designed to provide protection to any officer who is injured on the job or while performing work-related responsibilities . However , many officers misunderstand or misinterpret their rights . Hopefully this article will correct many of the misconceptions that PBA members hold .
Preliminarily , a frequent but erroneous belief is that an employee must demonstrate negligence and / or fault by someone to be entitled to benefits . To the contrary , negligence or fault is typically irrelevant in determining whether the officer should receive benefits . Even if an officer ’ s negligence may cause an injury , as long as the injury is not intentionally caused by that employee , most often they will be entitled to the workers ’ compensation benefits . The primary focus is whether the injury arises out of employment or in the course of employment , and whether the injury was unintentional .
With regard to the first question – did the injury “ arise out ” of the officer ’ s employment – the injury must be the result of the employee ’ s work effort and / or job duties . Therefore , the question is , but for that specific work effort or job duty , would the injury have occurred ? For example , if an officer is hit by a car while performing traffic duty during his regular shift , you must ask whether “ but for ” the performance of his job duties , would he even be at that location ?
Similarly , in analyzing whether the injury occurred “ in the course of ” the officer ’ s employment , the question to be asked is whether the employee was actually on the clock and / or on duty at the time the injury occurred . In most instances , the focus is on whether the officer was actually being paid by the employer for that specific period of time .
In this regard , a major source of confusion regarding when entitlement to compensation is triggered is application of what is commonly referred to as the “ Going and Coming Rule .” Many erroneously believe that when employees are traveling to work , or in travel after leaving work , that they are covered by workers ’ compensation benefits if they are injured . However , workers ’ compensation benefits generally do not extend to travel to and from the work location at the beginning or end of the regular work shift . This exclusion applies even if the officer is traveling in a vehicle provided by the employer .
However , it should be noted that this has been the subject
10 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ NOVEMBER 2017