New Jersey Court Rules that Employees Overseas Do Not Have to Receive Workers’ Comp

July 31, 2009

A recent decision made by a New Jersey appeals court says that companies, which hire employees to work in foreign countries, are not required by law to provide workers’ compensation insurance. The case centers on a non-profit organization, based in the state of New Jersey.

International Schools Services, Inc. is a non-profit, which employees approximately 160 teachers. These individuals are sent overseas to third-world countries, where they are instructed to teach to underprivileged children. None of the employees are citizens of New Jersey. However, because the non-profit is based in the state, it falls under the jurisdiction of the state’s courts.

The organization struggled to find an insurance company that would provide coverage to its employees. The employees sued the company for failing to provide benefits in 2008, but the court ruled that the company could not be faulted.