As with many of the nation’s laws, workers’ compensation varies from state to state. While this allows each state its own freedom, it can also prove confusing and even overwhelming for employees. New Jersey employees who have been injured on the job often do not know where to begin. On top of a permanent disability, some must grapple with difficult employers or complex systems. Below is an overview of New Jersey’s workers’ compensation guidelines that may make it easier to navigate the process as a whole.
When it comes to permanent disability, victims are often left with more questions than answers. The Social Security Office of Policy points out that workers’ compensation is the oldest social insurance program in the country — largely without federal influence. With that said, programs can vary greatly in regard to rules and benefits. Most of the complexities lie in the category of permanent disability. The SSOP notes that permanent partial disability makes up over half of all workers’ compensation cases, and that most states list a range of benefits offered for specific losses.
More specifically, New Jersey’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development shares that the state provides both permanent partial and permanent total disability benefits. Permanent partial disability benefits revolve around two categories: “scheduled” and “non-scheduled” losses. The Department goes on to state that scheduled losses involve arms, hands, fingers, feet, toes, legs, ears, eyes or teeth; non-scheduled losses involve areas such as the back or lungs. Permanent total disability benefits apply when an employee loses the ability to return to gainful employment of any kind, and generally result in weekly benefits. One’s exact wages may alter the details of these weekly benefits. Going through a traumatic injury at work is enough of a stressor on its own, but knowing the regulations that can benefit one in times of need can be crucial.