Building on the State PBA’s leadership promoting treatment and peer counseling for officers in need of mental health support legislation was recently released unanimously from the Assembly Labor Committee to require workers comp coverage for officers facing post-traumatic stress.
Assembly Bill 5792 not only requires 12 weeks of paid counseling, but it corrects a failure in the workers comp system in NJ by now permitting an officer to select their own therapist as opposed to one chosen by their employer.
In addition, A5792 provides confidentiality for peer counseling performed by trained officers for their communication with fellow officers in need of mental health support.
The State PBA is grateful to Assemblyman Roy Freiman (D-16) for his sponsorship and to Speaker Coughlin for prioritizing the bill during the busy Budget season. We are looking forward to seeing the bill posted for a vote in the Assembly and for the Senate to move its version, S4590, in the next few weeks.