New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday signed a pair of bills that expand the state’s workers compensation law for certain first responders.
The governor signed into law Assembly Bill 5909 and Senate Bill 4267, which, among other things, add part-time and volunteer firefighters, police officers and first aid or rescue squad members as employees eligible for workers comp benefits.
The new law adds that a response to an emergency, including work that is sufficient to cause certain injuries or death, is considered compensable.
It also expands first responders who are covered under workers comp to include career emergency medical technicians and paramedics employed by the state, counties, municipalities or private sector counterparts engaged in public emergency medical and rescue services.