Ortiz

**School Employee Wins COVID-19 Workers' Compensation Case** This case involved a dispute between the Township of Ocean School District and a deceased employee's family over workers' compensation benefits related to COVID-19. The employee had died, and their family was seeking benefits under New Jersey's special COVID-19 workers' compensation law, which created easier paths to compensation for certain workers who contracted the virus. The school district challenged the case on multiple fronts. They tried to have the judge removed from the case and argued that the employee shouldn't qualify for special protections under the COVID-19 law. However, the court ruled against the school district on both issues. The court determined that the deceased employee was an "essential employee" under New Jersey's COVID-19 workers' compensation statute. This classification is important because it creates a "rebuttable presumption" - meaning the law assumes the employee caught COVID-19 at work unless the employer can prove otherwise. **What this means for workers:** If you're classified as an essential employee and contract COVID-19, the law is on your side when seeking workers' compensation benefits. Employers must prove you didn't catch the virus at work, rather than you having to prove that you did.