Since 1911, the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act (“the Act”) has provided employers and employees predictability in resolving disputes over injuries occurring in the workplace. Indeed, our courts have routinely dismissed creative attempts by plaintiffs to circumvent the Act’s exclusivity bar by arguing that their injuries are due to the intentional wrongs of their employers and that they should be entitled to bring their claims in New Jersey Superior Court where they can seek unlimited damages.

Most recently, in Margaret Allen v. MB Mutual Holding Company d/b/a Manasquan Bank, et al., 2019 WL 2395913 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. June 6, 2019) (“Manasquan Bank”), our Appellate Division reaffirmed that courts are unwilling to water down the Act’s exclusivity bar even in the face of an allegation that a worker was sickened by toxic mold in her workplace. The Appellate Division upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that alleged Manasquan Bank committed an intentional wrong by failing to properly remediate toxic mold thereby causing plaintiff, a branch manager, to contract various mold-related illnesses. In upholding the dismissal of the lawsuit, the Appellate Division reinforced the supremacy of the Workers’ Compensation Act as the preferred mechanism for addressing workplace injuries including those caused by environmental substances such as mold. 

NJ’s Act: A Historic Trade Off