SENATE LABOR COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3772

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 5, 2024

      The Senate Labor Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 3772.

     This bill revises the workers’ compensation law to modernize its treatment of board and lodging provided by an employer when calculating the rate of benefits.  Currently, board and lodging furnished by an employer are regarded as part of wages and valued at $25 per week, unless a different amount is fixed at the time of hiring.  The bill provides, instead, that, unless a different amount is fixed at the time of hiring, the value of employer furnished board and lodging be its market value, except that if the claimant continues to receive board or lodging during the period of total temporary disability, the value of the board or lodging will not be included in the calculation of the workers’ compensation rate for purposes of temporary total disability.