New Jersey Supreme Court Affirms Essential Employee Status for Teachers in COVID-19 Workers’ Compensation Case

The main issue in this appeal was whether a teacher was an essential employee who was entitled to a rebuttable presumption that getting COVID-19 was work-related and compensable under workers’ compensation. The petitioner filed a dependency claim, alleging the decedent—the petitioner’s wife—contracted COVID-19 during the period of occupational exposure while in the course of her employment with the respondent. The decedent had been a full-time teacher for the respondent, which stopped in-person instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The school re-opened on February 8, 2021. After the decedent returned, she became ill and died on May 18, 2021, due to respiratory failure from COVID-19.

The Supreme Court noted that both the workers’ compensation judge and the Appellate Division found that teachers are deemed essential employees under the Office of Emergency Management’s (OEM) adoption of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) list of essential employees. The court also noted the New Jersey Governor’s delegation of authority to the Department of Health (DOH) deemed teachers to be essential employees. Further, the petitioner did not need to submit an affidavit under N.J.A.C. 12:235-3.5(b) as the motion relied on public documents.

The New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed the judgement of the Appellate Division substantially for the reasons in Judge Puglisi’s opinion. A summary of the Appellate Division’s decision can be found in the January 2025 edition of What’s Hot in Workers’ Comp (https://marshalldennehey.com/articles/new-jersey-appellate-division-fin…). 

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