Disability Leave for Gloucester County, NJ Employees
As an employee of Gloucester County, if you’re injured on the job, it likely means you’ll miss work. However, what you may not know is that Gloucester County administers its own disability benefits system, which may provide you with important financial compensation while you recover from your injuries. At the New Jersey workplace injury law firm of Petrillo & Goldberg Law, we have more than 25 years of experience helping injured workers obtain the compensation they need to heal from their injuries and get back to work. We have recovered over $120 million on behalf of our clients and secured compensation for our clients in 97 percent of the cases we handle.
What Benefits Are Available to Injured Gloucester County Employees?
If you’ve been injured while working for Gloucester County, New Jersey, there are several ways that you may be able to obtain compensation for your injuries. The county’s Human Resources Manual explains that “[i]n case of disability due to illness or injury as a result of, or arising from, an employee’s job, the County pays Disability Leave” based on the terms of the employee’s job contract. For unionized employees, this figure can be ascertained by contacting your union spokesperson. However, if you are not a union employee or serve in a management position, the county will pay two weeks of benefits at 100 percent of your base pay plus an additional 24 weeks of disability benefits at 85 percent of your base pay. As long as your injury is determined to be work-related, then the county will not require you to use your sick time.
In addition to disability benefits through the County, injured workers may also pursue a workers’ compensation claim. Like disability benefits, workers’ compensation benefits are payable to workers who suffered an injury, illness, or disability as a result of their job. There is no requirement that you prove anyone else was at fault to obtain workers’ compensation benefits. However, if you successfully pursue a Gloucester County workers’ compensation claim, your disability payments will be reduced by the amount of workers’ comp benefits you received.
Before Gloucester County pays out any disability benefits, certain conditions must be met.
- An injured worker must immediately report the accident to their supervisor.
- If the accident involved any property owned by the County, the injured worker must complete the Notice of Accident/Injury Form.
- An injured worker must provide their employer with notice of all medical appointments and allow the County to verify that a worker attended their scheduled appointments.
- An injured worker must communicate with their direct supervisor regarding the outcome of each appointment.
- An injured worker must provide their supervisor with all documentation of medical appointments and any doctor-ordered work restrictions.
- An injured worker must participate in rehabilitation by attending all recommended appointments, including physical therapy, diagnostic tests, and therapeutic measures.
Notably, the County is not responsible for—and will not pay—medical expenses that were not authorized. Thus, workers must ensure an open line of communication with their supervisor or the Human Resources Department.
Are Gloucester County Employees Entitled to Disability Benefits for Non-Work-Related Accidents?
Under the New Jersey Temporary Disability Benefits Law, temporary disability benefits are available to those employees who cannot work because of illness or injury that is not caused by or related to an employee’s job. While these temporary cash benefits are usually an optional add-on for employees, Gloucester County has decided to pay for these benefits on behalf of its employees.
To begin receiving benefits for an injury that prevents you from working but was not caused by or related to your work, the following must apply:
- You must use up all your banked sick days;
- You must meet the medical requirements outlined in the NJ Temporary Disability Benefits Program;
- You must have worked at least 20 weeks, earning more than $103 per week, or earned $5,200 over the past 52 weeks;
- You must wait one week after your injury before you begin receiving benefits.
Common Types of Work Injuries
In 2020, state and local government employees in New Jersey reported 16,600 work-related injuries and illnesses. In 81 percent of cases, a local government worker, like a county worker, suffered injury or illness.
Workers in Gloucester County and other New Jersey localities annually suffer injuries. According to the New Jersey Department of Health, approximately 1.8 million injuries occurred on the job in New Jersey between 2000 and 2019. In 300,000 cases, the injured worker was so badly hurt that they had to take more than ten days off.
Common causes of fatal injuries on the job include the following:
- Transportation incidents like car crashes,
- Slip, trip, and fall incidents causing injuries,
- Contact with objects or equipment, like being struck by an object or pinned in machinery, and
- Exposure to harmful substances like toxic chemicals or harmful environments like very hot or very cold environments.
While any industry can experience an incident that causes injuries or illness, some are more dangerous than others. In 2020, the deadliest fields in which to work included construction and extraction, transportation, and building and grounds maintenance.
Typical Scenarios of Getting Injured at Work
As 2023 began, the Camden metropolitan area, including Gloucester County, employed over 686,000 workers. About 22,600 worked in mining, logging, and construction jobs. Another 41,400 Gloucester County-area workers work in manufacturing, and over 137,000 have jobs in trade, transportation, and utilities. Education and health services is another major local employer, with over 105,000 workers.
These fields are also among the most common for on-the-job injuries. Scenarios in which workers in these fields might get injured include
- A construction worker suffers burn injuries when a hidden defect in a power tool causes the tool to overheat during use.
- A manufacturing worker experiences broken bones and crush injuries when their hand becomes trapped inside a piece of equipment.
- A transportation worker suffers neck and back injuries when another driver runs a red light and strikes their delivery truck as the worker makes their daily deliveries.
- A healthcare worker slips and falls, breaking bones, while helping a patient.
Countless other examples also exist. Injuries can occur in other industries as well, like education, restaurant work, retail work, finance, and other fields. Employees who are injured on the job can seek compensation. If you’ve been injured, talk to an experienced Gloucester County Workers’ Compensation attorney today.
How to Choose a Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
You know your job inside and out. Yet you may never have had to file a workers’ compensation claim or work with a lawyer before. To choose an attorney and prepare your case, keep these tips in mind.
- Keep all paperwork related to your injury in one place. Start a collection of documents, like information from your doctor or hospital, copies of your pay stubs, and your workers’ compensation paperwork. Bring this paperwork to meetings with your lawyer.
- Make a list of questions for an attorney. For instance, you might have workers’ compensation paperwork that makes no sense to you. Add questions about this paperwork to your list. Also, you might wonder how you can afford a workers’ compensation lawyer. Ask questions about the cost of representation and how your lawyer is paid.
- Look for signs that you’ve chosen an experienced attorney. A workers’ compensation attorney is a good choice if they have past success handling workers’ compensation cases in Gloucester County. Also, pay attention to how the attorney addresses your questions. If you understand their answers and they’re willing to answer follow-up questions, the attorney is likely to be one you can work with successfully.
Many workers’ compensation attorneys in New Jersey offer free, confidential consultations. This means you can speak to a lawyer and ask questions without paying for the conversation. A free consultation gives you the chance to learn more about your case and workers’ compensation law. You can learn how a lawyer answers your questions and decide whether this is someone you trust to fight for you.
Have You Been Injured While Working for Gloucester County?
If you were recently injured in a Gloucester County work accident, you are likely entitled to disability benefits of one type or another. However, determining which type of benefits offers you the most compensation may not be straightforward. Additionally, the County and its insurance provider may reject your claim if it believes your injuries were not related to your work, that they were preexisting, or that they are not as serious as you believe them to be. At the Petrillo & Goldberg Law, we have more than 25 years of experience advocating on behalf of injured workers, including those seeking Gloucester County disability benefits. We can help you understand your rights and effectively pursue them. To learn more, and to schedule, a free consultation, call 856-249-9288 today. You can also reach us through our secure online contact form.
