ASSEMBLY LABOR COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 2100
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
The Assembly Labor Committee reports favorably and with
committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 2100.
As amended, this bill provides that a public safety worker who
participated in the response to the September 11, 2001 attacks and is
treated or monitored through the World Trade Center Health Program
established by the Centers for Disease Control is presumed to be
compensable under the State workers’ compensation law without
respect to when the worker files his claim for compensation, except
that the claim is required to be filed within two years after the effective
date of the bill, with certain exceptions. If a worker has previously
collected benefits under any foreign state or federal workers’
compensation law, or federal fund or program dedicated to paying
medical, temporary, or permanency benefits for conditions causally
related to injury, illness or death related to the September 11, 2001
attacks, the receipt of those benefits will be a credit to the employer,
against an award of either medical, temporary or permanency benefits.
If a foreign workers’ compensation or federal fund claim is pending
and has not yet resulted in the payment of benefits, an award will only
be payable as in excess to the foreign state award. If a federal fund
claim results in the payment of benefits, then any payment paid or
awarded will comply with the federal rules, regulations and statutes
concerning collateral source reduction or reimbursement for collateral
sources.
The bill requires the Division of Archives and Records
Management in the Department of State, and each county,
municipality, regional or joint public safety entity, or other agency
involved in the public safety, to notify all active and retired personnel
and next-of-kin, if the personnel are deceased, of the presumption of
compensability within three months of the effective date of the bill.
As amended and reported, this bill is identical to Senate Bill No.
1470 of the 2024-2025 Legislative Session.
This bill was prefiled for introduction in the 2024-2025 session
pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes
required by technical review, which has been performed. 2
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS :
The committee amended the bill to:
1. Prohibit rejection of a claim because of the term of service,
age, or number of years of service of a public safety worker;
2. Remove the provision that a public safety worker be ineligible
for compensation if receiving compensation from other jurisdictions
but provide that the employer have the amount of compensation
reduced by the amount of compensation from the other jurisdiction;
3. Provide, as an alternative to the requirement that the public
safety worker file a claim within two years of the effective date of the
bill, that the claim may be filed within two years of date when the
claimant knew or should have known that the claimant sustained a
permanent disability in connection with exposure at the World Trade
Center;
4. Require the Division of Archives and Records Management in
the Department of State, and each county, municipality, regional or
joint public safety entity, or other agency involved in the public safety,
to notify all active and retired personnel and next-of-kin, if the
personnel are deceased, of the presumption of compensability within
three months of the effective date of the bill; and
5. Make technical changes.