Bill That Assumes Essential Workers Contracted COVID-19 at Work Would Break Workers’ Comp Fund

TRENTON (May 13, 2020) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which represents thousands of small businesses in New Jersey, opposes Senate bill, S-2380, believing it is likely to bankrupt the New Jersey’s workers’ compensation fund. The bill was given a thumbs up by a Senate committee yesterday, and is expected to get vote by the full Senate tomorrow.

The bill would assume certain essential employees contracted the COVID-19 virus during the scope of their employment. The bill states an employer would not incur increased premiums, but small businesses have great concerns with this legislation because no source of funding is designated. The bill also has no expiration date.

“This bill will overwhelm the workers’ compensation system and likely bankrupt it’s fund because it was never designed to handle a pandemic,” said State Director of NFIB in New Jersey, Eileen Kean. “Even though the legislation says premiums won’t increase for businesses, there is no mention in the bill about where the money will come from, and it won’t appear out of thin air. That’s why it is likely to fall on the backs of small businesses when they are struggling to come back economically.”

“It can’t be assumed that an employee contracted the virus at work when they interact with others off the job, especially when New Jersey is starting to reopen the economy, and people will have many more encounters with the public,” added Kean. “It doesn’t make sense to use the workers’ comp system to cover this cost when the CARES Act passed by Congress allocated dollars for crisis-related costs for income and medical benefits.

It is important to note that, New Jersey already has the third-highest workers’ compensation rates in the nation. NFIB has registered its concerns with lawmakers about S-2380.

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For more than 75 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.