Bill Introduced to Allow Alternate Workers’ Compensation Programs Through Collective Bargaining

On November 19, 2012, a bill (A3423) was introduced that seeks to authorize the establishment, through collective bargaining, of alternate workers’ compensation programs. Such programs would include alternate dispute resolution systems for such claims, the creation of light duty, joint labor-management occupational safety and health committees, and benefits supplementary to those provided under workers’ compensation or temporary disability insurance. The Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor would be required to monitor any such programs reached through bargaining. The bill would also permit groups of employers participating in Taft-Hartley trust funds to apply to the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance for approval to agree to pool their workers’ compensation liabilities for the purpose of qualifying as members of a group plan for self-insurance.