NJ Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Landmark Case

On September 25, 2025, the New Jersey Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that is poised to set significant precedent for workers' compensation law. Giuseppe Amato v. Township of Ocean School District (Docket A-31-24).

The case centers on the dependency claim filed by the widower of a school teacher who tragically died of COVID-19 after returning to in-person instruction as she complied with The Governor's Executive  Order to return work in the classroom. The Supreme Court's review focuses on a highly contentious legal question: the scope of New Jersey's COVID-19 Essential Employee Presumption..

Burn Pit Legislation Signed into Law

President Biden signed legislation that will provide medical benefits from the Veterans Administration to service members exposed to toxic burn pits while deployed overseas in recent conflicts. The President signed the Sargent First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act. It embodies some of the goals we strived to achieve in the decades-long burn pit litigation project.

Governor Murphy Reinstates Public Health Emergency Triggering Presumptions of Compensability

Governor Phil Murphy today reinstated a Public Health Emergency, effective immediately, in order to ensure that the State is able to respond to the continued threat of COVID-19 and the rapidly spreading Omicron variant. The declaration of a public health emergency by statute triggers the workers’ compensation compensability presumptions for essential workers.