Earlier this year we alerted you about A1908 and asked members to contact their legislators to urge them to vote against this bill. Recently A1908 was substituted for S929
and was passed in the Assembly and received in the Senate to concur with
Assembly Amendments. The Senate did not vote on the amended version
so it is still in limbo and could be voted on when the legislature reconvenes.
and was passed in the Assembly and received in the Senate to concur with
Assembly Amendments. The Senate did not vote on the amended version
so it is still in limbo and could be voted on when the legislature reconvenes.
HISTORY:
Legislation that would increase workers’ compensation costs for most private employers in New Jersey is scheduled for an Assembly floor vote this Thursday June 11.
Assembly Bill 1908 imposes an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) on workers’ compensation benefit rates for certain disability cases that occurred after 1980. The extra money would be generated by increasing the surcharge employers pay on their premiums to maintain New Jersey’s Second Injury Fund for injured workers. The most recent estimated cost after the three year phase-in is $59.5 million.
This bill will would also:
- Significantly increase the cost of workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation costs have been climbing. Rates have increased in recent years: 6.9 percent in 2012, 7.6 percent in 2013 and 3.6 percent in 2014. In a ranking of state workers’ compensation premium rates, New Jersey went from 23rd in 2006 to third in 2014.
- Ensure costs are absorbed solely by private employers. While both public and private-sector workers’ compensation beneficiaries will benefit from the higher rates, the added expense will be borne solely by private-sector employers.
