Blog

April 15, 2024
What Kinds of Activities Can Employees Engage in While Out of Work Receiving Temporary Disability Benefits in Workers’ Compensation?
In this article, we discuss the types of activities employees can engage in while receiving temporary disability and those that can eliminate an employee from receiving benefits.
March 18, 2024
Q1 Legislative Update
Governor Murphy has delivered his record setting fiscal plan for 2025.
October 09, 2023
Why Double Recoveries Help Employers Recover Workers’ Compensation Payments
What is a double recovery and how can it help an employer recover Workers' Compensation payments? Read more in this article.
August 22, 2023
Legislative Changes Are Adding Workers’ Comp Costs On Employers
A recently approved amendment will add Workers' Compensation costs employers pay.
May 31, 2023
Cost Drivers In Workers’ Compensation
What key drivers are resposible for growing Workers' Compensation costs? Learn more in this article.
March 28, 2023
Everything Municipal Officials Need to Know About Permanency Awards and How to Reduce Awards
This Q&A article was developed based on questions commonly asked to the author, John H. Geaney, Esq. of Capehart Scatchard, P.A.
December 12, 2022
5 Factors Driving Higher Costs in New Jersey Workers’ Compensation
What has contributed to New Jersey's workers' compensation costs being the highest in the nation? Here are 5 factors that are escalating workers' compensation costs in the state.
December 02, 2022
New NJ Bill Requires Certain Public Venues and Places of Worship to Develop Emergency Plans
A new NJ bill will require public venues and places of workship to submit emergency plans pertaining to potential mass casualty or active shooter events to local law enforcement.
October 03, 2022
Issues Pertaining To Marijuana and Workers’ Compensation
Where do New Jersey employers and municipalities stand today with respect to marijuana and workers’ compensation? In this article, we examine New Jersey's mariajana laws and where employers are responsible to provide workers' compensation.
July 11, 2022
Settlements in New Jersey Workers’ Compensation And What Municipalities Can Do To Reduce Costs
In his article, we address what municipal managers need to know about settlements of permanency claims and what can be done to reduce awards.
May 16, 2022
Key Questions and Answers Regarding New Jersey Workers’ Compensation
​Here are some key questions that defense counsels receive in the handling of claims against public employers.
March 14, 2022
New Jersey Legislature and Supreme Court Face Off on Compensability of Accidents in Parking Lots
The recent passing of the New Jersey Legislature's S771 ruling has some employers questioning whether or not accidents that occur in parking lots are considered work related. Read more in this article.
December 15, 2021
NIP Group Receives National Recognition for Its Innovative Body Camera Pilot Program
NIP Group is proud to announce the launch of a new video management pilot program for their police departments members of the Garden State Municipal Joint Insurance Fund (GSMJIF) and Public Entity Joint Insurance Fund (PEJIF).
October 11, 2021
Municipal Volunteers and New Jersey Workers’ Compensation 
There are many issues pertaining to volunteers in New Jersey and most of them center on municipal workers.  Any discussion of the topic of volunteers must begin with the definitions of employee and volunteer.
July 26, 2021
Rules on Compensability of Injuries During Travel in New Jersey Workers’ Compensation
Does workers' compensation apply to injuries that occur during travel? In this article we examine some questions surrounding the Workers' Compensation laws in New Jersey and how they apply to travel.
June 23, 2021
NJ DOH Pool Guidance Update
On May 28th, 2021, the New Jersey Department of Health updated its guidelines for how municipal and private pool clubs can maintain safe COVID practices. Pool owners/management must follow the guidelines listed as follows.
June 17, 2021
Key Developments In New Jersey Workers’ Compensation For Public Employers
There are a number of important developments affecting public employers in workers’ compensation. Two of them concern COVID-19 claims, and one involves a rather alarming piece of legislation that, if passed, will affect all New Jersey employers in respect to the ability to terminate employees who reach maximal medical improvement.
April 29, 2021
New Jersey Supreme Court Rules Employers May Be Required to Pay Costs Of Medical Marijuana in Workers’ Compensation Cases
​The New Jersey Supreme Court decision on April 13, 2021 in Hager v. M&K Construction will have a significant impact on public employers in the state, potentially increasing the cost of medical care by requiring reimbursement of medical marijuana expenses.
March 01, 2021
Director of Division of Workers' Compensation Orders to End Practice Of Offsetting Comp Awards Against Accidental Disability Pensions & Entering Medical Monitoring Awards for Future Medical Treatment
When a traumatic work event occurs with severe employment consequences, the public employee who applies for an accidental disability pension (ADP) almost always also applies for workes’ compensation benefits.  The law is clear that the employee cannot keep both awards, but who gets the offset?
January 25, 2021
Issues Pertaining To COVID-19 Vaccines For Municipalities
As COVID-19 continues to infect millions of Americans and vaccines begin to be offered to certain employees and residents of New Jersey, municipalities are facing some novel and challenging issues involving workers’ compensation and a variety of other laws. This blog focuses on several cutting-edge issues facing municipalities.
December 21, 2020
The New Jersey Premises Rule Is Under Attack
One of the pillars of the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act has been the rock solid “premises rule,” which has been in place since 1979 when the workers’ compensation law was substantially amended. 
November 23, 2020
The New Jersey Premises Rule In Workers’ Compensation
Most workers know that the daily drive from home to work and from work to home is not covered for workers’ compensation purposes.  But where does that rule come from?  Before 1979 it came from case law which created the concept of the “going-and-coming rule.”
November 10, 2020
The Defense Of COVID-19 Cases and Return-To-Work Issues For Municipalities
As COVID-19 workers’ compensation claim petitions begin to get filed and as employees begin to return from remote work assignments, municipalities have been asking important questions. Read more
November 04, 2020
Significant Developments In New Jersey Concerning Medical Claim Petitions
One of the unusual features in New Jersey workers’ compensation law is that medical providers cannot bring collection law suits in civil court against injured workers or against employers, insurance carriers, joint insurance funds or their third party administrators. Read more
November 02, 2020
The Essential Employees Law
The impact on municipalities in Workers’ Compensation from COVID-19 and the Canzanella Law. Read more.
May 12, 2020
Guidance To GSMJIF Municipalities On Defense Of COVID-19 Workers’ Compensation Claims
Certainly the most pressing issue in workers’ compensation right now for public employers is how to manage occupational claims for COVID-19. Read More.