New Jersey Workers' Compensation Benefits May Be Available in Same Sex Relationships

Ricky Bagolie

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The New Jersey Supreme Court may have opened the door for providing workers' compensation benefits in same sex relationships. In Mark Lewis and Dennis Winslow, et al. v. Gwendolyn L. Harris, etc., et al. (A-68-05), the Court said

"Disparate treatment of committed same-sex couples, moreover, directly disadvantages their children. We fail to see any legitimate governmental purpose in disallowing the child of a deceased same-sex parent survivor benefits under the Workers' Compensation Act or Criminal Injuries Compensation Act when children of married parents would be entitled to such benefits."

In light of this New Jersey Supreme Court opinion, it is our position that same sex partners killed at work, and their children, are entilted to dependency benefits and we welcome the opportunity to investigate these claims.