HPAE statement on passage of COVID-19 presumption/Workers’ Compensation bill

The following statement can be attributed to HPAE President Debbie White, RN:

“Nurses and health care professionals should never have had to worry about fighting for workers’ compensation and other benefits if they became sick while providing critical care on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic. With passage today of a law presuming that those who contracted the virus did so while caring for patients, our legislators showed enormous support for our
healthcare heroes. HPAE and our more than 14,000 members now strongly urge Gov. Murphy to waste no time signing this bill into law.”

“Our frontline healthcare workers had inadequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), inadequate training and often, ill-fitting equipment, thereby exposing them to the virus. Because of this, many of them were exposed and fell ill.

“This bill rightly covers most essential workers, including grocery and other retail workers who worked during this crisis, so that they will now be able to receive employment benefits, including Workers’ Compensation, due to work exposure.”