December 14, 2020
Legislative Update
• Workers Comp. Benefit Increase for Dependents of Essential Workers Who Died of COVID Released from Committee
• Unemployment Benefit Extension Also Released from Committee
Today, the Assembly Labor Committee released legislation supported by the New Jersey State AFL-CIO and several affiliated unions. We thank Assembly Labor Committee Chairman Joe Egan for posting these bills and we thank the members of the committee who voted in favor.
A-3998 (Murphy / Giblin) was released from committee by a vote of 5-0-2. The bill seeks to provide a COLA increase annually from workers compensation to the dependents of certain essential workers who contracted COVID during the course of their employment and later died from COVID. The bill already passed the Senate. Voting in favor were Assembly members Space (R-24), Sumpter (D-35), Moriarty (D-4), Mazzeo (D-2) Verrelli (D-14) and Egan (D-17). Assemblymen Catalano (R-10) and Scharfenberger (R-13) abstained.
Also released from the committee was an extension of unemployment benefit legislation (A-5151: Egan). The bill was released unanimously and provides eight weeks of emergency unemployment benefits during the period from December 22, 2020, to February 27, 2021. Up to $350 million will be allocated.
The emergency unemployment benefits provided by the bill is funded entirely by the State. No employer’s account is charged for emergency unemployment benefits. This bill has been posted for a vote by the full Assembly on Thursday, December 17, 2020.