Top Blog Posts of 2023

It has been a busy year for the Workers' Compensation blog. This blog has had over 2 million views. Here is a list of the most popular posts in 2023. 

Happy New Year!

NJ Rates to Rise in 2024

New Jersey is set to become one of a handful of states with a minimum wage of at least $15/hour on January 1, 2024 when the rate increases to $15.13/hour, surpassing the goal set by Governor Murphy and the Legislature in 2019. 

NATIONAL CENSUS OF FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES IN 2022

There were 5,486 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2022, a 5.7-percent increase from 5,190 in 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The fatal work injury rate was 3.7 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, up from 3.6 per 100,000 FTE in 2021.  These data are from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI).

TSCA Update

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is beginning the process of prioritizing five additional toxic chemicals for risk evaluation under the nation’s premier chemical safety law. If, during the 12-month-long statutory process, the EPA designates these five chemicals as high-priority substances, the EPA will then begin risk evaluations for these chemicals. 

Voluntary Departure

A student attending college and working full time was permitted temporary disability benefits despite the alleged defense of "Voluntary Departure" from the workforce. The court's decision is unsurprising since that terminology is absent from the Workers’ Compensation Act.

Not an Exception

In most instances, the sole remedy for a worker injured at work is Workers’ Compensation Act [WCA] benefits. Even if the employer fails to obtain workers’ compensation insurance, the employee remains limited to those remedies provided under the WCA.

Shameless

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) has posted the names of 14 additional businesses to its Workplace Accountability in Labor List (aka The WALL), bringing to 82 the total number of delinquent employers with outstanding liabilities for violations of state wage, benefit or tax laws.