Workers' Compensation: Deviation From Employment

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Deviation From Employment

The NJ Appellate Division held that an emergency police dispatcher who was injured in a car accident while returning to work from a lunch break was not entitled to workers' compensation benefits.

Key Facts
Latshaw was employed by the Lakewood Township Police Department.
She was injured in an accident while driving her own car during a paid lunch break.

Employees were expected to take lunch breaks in the middle of their shifts and needed supervisor approval to take them at the end. Three dispatchers staffed each shift.

Reasoning for Denial
The court concluded that Latshaw's injuries were not work-related because the accident occurred during her lunch break while going to a restaurant. The court reasoned that even though the worker was paid for the travel time, the employer did not control her activities during the break.

Analysis

The court reviewed the facts in light of three of the four exceptions to the off-premises rule as enumerated in N.J.S.A. 34:15-36.

1. The accident was not at the location of the employer's premises and not under the employer's control.

2. The activity was not a "special mission" assigned by the employer.

3. It was not "paid time travel" since the employee was traveling to a personal destination, the restaurant, for lunch.

Dawn Latshaw v Lakewood Township Police Department, Docket No. A-3702-21, Decided March 25, 2024.

UNPUBLISHED OPINION. CHECK COURT RULES BEFORE CITING.

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

This opinion shall not “constitute precedent or be binding upon any court.” Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3. Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.

Recommended Citation: Gelman, Jon L., Deviation From Employment, www.gelmans.com (03/25/2024)

......

ORDER NOW

....

*Jon L. Gelman of Wayne, NJ, is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). For over five decades, the Law Offices of Jon Gelman 1.973.696.7900
jon@gelmans.com has represented injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational illnesses and diseases.