The Appellate Division addresses the issue of compensability in the context of off-site employment.

The petitioner was employed as a school bus driver by the respondent. Her responsibilities included driving children to school in the morning and then driving them home from school in the afternoon. The petitioner was also required to clean the bus interior and inspect all seatbelts after each run. On June 9, 2010, the petitioner parked her bus in front of her house after her morning run. Before leaving the bus, the petitioner swept the bus and inspected the seat belts as required. While exiting the bus, the petitioner tripped and fell over a rubber mat, sustaining an injury to her ankle.

The petitioner filed a petition with the Division of Workers' Compensation. The respondent asserted that the petitioner's injuries did not arise in the course of her employment because she was injured when she exited the school bus, which was in front of her home, and was not working for the respondent at the time. Accordingly, the respondent denied the petitioner's claim. A trial as to the issue of compensability ensued.

At trial, the petitioner testified that the respondent did not specify an exact time or place where her bus was to be cleaned, only that it was to be cleaned following each run. The respondent conceded that the petitioner was permitted to clean the bus off premises and that she received additional money to do so. The respondent further acknowledged that the petitioner was permitted to take her bus home after her morning run and then leave from her home to complete her afternoon run. At the conclusion of trial, the Judge of Compensation found that the petitioner was in the scope of her employment at the time of her injury and, accordingly, was entitled to workers' compensation benefits. The respondent appealed.

In affirming the Judge of Compensation's ruling, the Appellate Division relied on Jumpp v. City of Ventnor, 177 N.J. 470 (2003), in which the court noted that, "[w]hen an employee is assigned to work at locations away from the employer's place of employment, eligibility for workers' compensation benefits generally should be based on a finding that the employee is performing his or her prescribed job duties at the time of the injury."

The Appellate Division found significance in the fact that, cleaning the bus interior between runs was not only an integral part of her job, but she received additional compensation from the respondent for this work. Moreover, the respondent had knowledge of, and expressly permitted, the petitioner to take the bus home between runs and clean it off premises. As such, the Appellate Division concluded that the petitioner was, indeed, acting in the scope and course of her employment at the time of her injury and was, therefore, entitled to benefits under the New Jersey Workers Compensation Act.

Case Law Alert, 3rd Quarter 2013