Compensating dependents in the workers' compensation has always been problematic. The issue is that the system just can't make complex issues simple and hope that they just go away.
Dependents are again advocating for the elimination of what appears as "the death penalty in workers' compensation". Workers' Compensation is a scheduled system of payments usually based on wages in effect at the of death capped by wages in effect at the time of employment. For the most part, this is ALWAYS lower than the wages paid to the worker when living. The problem is that in some jurisdictions as NJ, they never increased benefits due to inflation or with cost of living adjustments. Those dependents (post 12/31/1979) are caught in such a trap.
The Sweeney-Madden Bill would correct this injustice in New Jersey. The bill, S-785 would enact an increase effective July 1, 2011. As for the years gone bye and the failure to pay retroactive benefits, they will remain as a monument to an injustice.
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