NJ Legislature Set To Extend Covid 19 Protections to All Essential Workers
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued an Executive Order in March which made grocery stores, delivery personnel, and others, Essential Workers which required them to continue working at their jobs. For Grocery workers and delivery personnel having a job was good news because many of their friends and neighbors were being laid off because of the State’s Stay At Home policy designed to slow the exponential spread of Covid 19 corona virus and prevent Hospitals from being overwhelmed by Covid 19 patients.
After the Federal Government provided an additional $600.00 per week in Unemployment benefits as part of a stimulus package, staying home did not seem so bad especially for grocery workers who were on the frontline and being exposed to frantic shoppers wanting to make sure they stocked up on groceries. Delivery personnel were not dealing as directly with customers but they were also exposed to cardboard boxes and plastic containers which have been identified as potential carriers of Covid 19 corona virus. Working under nerve-racking conditions the Grocery store and delivery personnel continued to do their jobs.
As previously reported on NJAccident.com, the New Jersey Legislature fortuitous passed the Thomas P. Canzanella First Responder Protection Act last July (2019), which provided Public Safety Workers with a presumption of compensability for among other things viral epidemics. The law makes it easier for Public Safety Workers which include police, fire, Emergency Medical Technicians, nurses, and doctors to obtain Workers Compensation benefits if they contract the Covid 19 corona virus.