Workers' compensation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania
The reporting deadlines here are measured in days. They are the single most common reason a work injury claim fails.
If you did nothing else today, tell your employer in writing
Verbal notice counts in both states, but proving verbal notice a year later is a different matter. An email or a text with the date, what happened and what hurts takes two minutes and is the cheapest insurance available to you.
Pennsylvania: 21 days and 120 days
Under Section 311 of the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act you have 120 days from the injury to notify your employer. Miss that and compensation is barred outright, with narrow exceptions.
Inside that window there is a second line at 21 days. Report within 21 days and benefits can run from the date of injury. Report later, and benefits generally begin from the date you reported, so the intervening wage loss is simply gone.
A claim petition must be filed within three years of the injury under 77 P.S. § 602 (Section 315), or three years from the last payment of compensation where payments were made.
New Jersey: 14, 90 and two years
New Jersey's notice rule sits in N.J.S.A. 34:15-17 and works in tiers. Notice within 14 days and benefits are allowed. Between 14 and 90 days, benefits are still available but the employer may defeat them by showing it was prejudiced by the delay, and in the later part of that window you may also need to explain the delay through mistake, ignorance of fact or law, inability, or another party's misrepresentation. Past 90 days, no compensation is allowed. That one is hard.
A formal claim petition must be filed within two years of the date of injury or the date of the last compensation payment, whichever is later (N.J.S.A. 34:15-51). For occupational illness, two years from when the worker first knew of the condition and its relationship to the work.
| New Jersey | Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|---|
| Safe-harbour notice | 14 days | 21 days (for benefits to date from injury) |
| Absolute notice bar | 90 days | 120 days |
| Deadline to file the claim | 2 years | 3 years |
| Temporary disability rate | 70% of average weekly wage, subject to the statutory maximum | Statutory formula, subject to the statewide average weekly wage cap |
| Pain and suffering | Not available | Not available |
What workers' compensation does and does not pay
Both systems are no-fault and both are, with narrow exceptions, your exclusive remedy against your employer. You do not have to prove the employer did anything wrong, and in exchange you cannot sue the employer for pain and suffering. What is covered is medical treatment, partial wage replacement while you cannot work, permanent disability where it applies, and death benefits to dependants.
New Jersey pays temporary disability at 70% of the average weekly wage, subject to a statutory maximum, and generally after more than seven days out of work.
The third-party claim people miss
Exclusive remedy protects your employer. It does not protect everyone else. If a subcontractor on the site, a delivery driver, a machine manufacturer or a property owner contributed to the injury, a separate claim against that party may exist alongside the compensation claim, and that one is not limited to statutory benefits.
Whether any such claim exists in your case is a legal question about your facts, which is precisely the question we cannot answer. It is a very good question to ask a lawyer.
Where each state's system lives
New Jersey claims are administered by the Division of Workers' Compensation within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Pennsylvania claims are administered by the Bureau of Workers' Compensation within the Department of Labor and Industry. Both publish free guidance for injured workers and both operate without charge to you.