S1982

An Act establishing an Ombudsman for Injured Workers and supplementing chapter 15 of Title 34 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. There is created, in but not of, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development an Ombudsman for Injured Workers. The ombudsman shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The ombudsman shall devote his entire time to the duties of his office. Any vacancy occurring in the position of ombudsman shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. If the ombudsman shall be unable for any reason to serve his full term of office, the Governor may designate an acting ombudsman until a successor is appointed and qualified.

2. The Ombudsman for Injured Workers shall:

a. Act as an advocate for injured workers by accepting, investigating and attempting to resolve complaints concerning matters related to the workers’ compensation system;

b. Provide information to injured workers to enable them to protect their rights in the workers’ compensation system;

c. Maintain a central registry of all claims investigations, including the nature of the investigation, findings and recommended actions; and

d. Report to the Governor and to the Legislature, in writing at least once each calendar year. The annual report shall include a summary of the services that the ombudsman provided during the year. The annual report shall also provide the ombudsman’s specific recommendations for improving ombudsman services and for protecting workers’ rights in the workers’ compensation system in the following year.

3. Information collected pursuant to section 2 of this act shall not be considered a public or government record under P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) and P.L.2001, c.404 (C.47:1A-5 et al.) commonly known as the “Open Public Records Act.” Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no information from records maintained by the Ombudsman for Injured Workers shall be disclosed to any business or other member of the public unless the bureau discloses the information in a manner which makes it impossible to identify the claimant.

4. The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development may, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, C.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt such rules and regulations, as shall be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

5. All costs of the implementation of this act shall be regarded as administrative costs of the Division of Workers’ Compensation in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

6. This act shall take effect on the 90th day after the date of enactment, but the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill creates, in but not of, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development an Ombudsman for Injured Workers. The ombudsman will be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Under the bill, the ombudsman is directed to: act as an advocate for injured workers by accepting, investigating and attempting to resolve complaints concerning matters related to workers’ compensation; provide information to injured workers to enable them to protect their rights in the workers’ compensation system; maintain a central registry of all claims investigations, including the nature of the investigation, findings and recommended actions; and

submit an annual report to the Governor and to the Legislature. The annual report must include a summary of the services that the ombudsman provided during the year and provide the ombudsman’s specific recommendations for improving ombudsman services and for protecting workers’ rights in the workers’ compensation system in the following year.

The bill provides that all information collected by the ombudsman is not public record and is not subject to the “Open Public Records Act.” Furthermore it requires that no information that could identify the individual claimant can be released to the public.