By C1 Staff
TRENTON, NJ — A new piece of legislation is attempting to put corrections and parole officers in an even footing with other law enforcement when it comes to injuries suffered on the job.
The attack on CO Eligia Then of the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton has put a spotlight on the fact that corrections officers, unlike state troopers, do not receive paid leave for injuries on the job. Then will receive workers’ compensation, which only pays 70 percent of her original paycheck.
“I can’t go into a public area where there’s too much going on,” she said in an interview with NJ.com. “Every morning I wake up with severe headaches.”
CO Then was attacked and choked by an inmate, leaving her with brain damage. She has dizzy spells, leaving her unable to drive. She’s worried about making ends meet and caring for her two young sons.
A bill before the legislature would require the state to keep paying corrections and juvenile detention officers who are physically injured in a riot or attack by inmates. It would also provide a compensation program for parole officers who are assaulted by parolees.
The measure would carry over the officers’ salaries until they begin receiving workers’ compensation payments, then cover the difference between those payments and the officer’s actual salary.
However, the bill doesn’t address health insurance, which officers on worker’s compensation must pay for on their own.
The bill (A2927/S491) is expected to be considered in the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee this week, according to state Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson), a sponsor in the Senate. An earlier version of the legislation was pending when the previous session ended in January.
Then’s union, Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 105, has been pushing for years in contract negotiations, but with no success. Lance Lopez, president of the union, has made it clear that the offocers would have to lobby for new legislation, and that he wasn’t asking for much -- just what state troopers receive.
“They can be out for a year with no issues, no complaints, no nothing,” he said. “We’re just not afforded that opportunity to be covered. I’m not looking for the state to compensate anyone who’s responding to a slip and fall. We’re just basically saying, if this is the result of an inmate assault, we’re asking them to compensate those individuals.”