Opinion ID: 1542384
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Cruz v. Central Jersey Landscaping, Inc.

Text: Luz Cruz's husband, Jose Antonio Perez, suffered a fatal accident on March 19, 2002, in the course of his employment with Central Jersey Landscaping, Inc. At the time of his death, Perez's gross weekly wages were $542.00. Perez was survived by Cruz and three dependent children. Cruz filed a claim petition for death benefits under the Act on April 10, 2002. Central Jersey Landscaping conceded that the claim was compensable and voluntarily began making payments of $342.30 per week to Cruz, without the entry of any formal award. That weekly amount was calculated based on the statutory rate for four dependents, which was fixed by the statute at sixty-five percent of Perez's wages. See N.J.S.A. 34:15-13(d) (2003). Six months after the statute was amended, Cruz sought a retroactive increase in benefits to seventy percent of her late husband's wages, as would have been awarded in accordance with the newly modified provision. On February 28, 2005, the judge of compensation denied Cruz's petition. In reaching this decision, the compensation judge reasoned that the employer's obligation to pay was fixed, and therefore vested, no later than the date on which it had begun making death benefit payments, if it had not already vested on the date of Perez's death. Because the court analyzed the application as Cruz's effort to overturn a previously vested right, and because the amendment to the statute included no direction from the Legislature about retroactivity, the court concluded that Cruz's benefits should continue at the rate set forth in the schedule that pre-dated the amendment. Cruz filed her notice of appeal on April 7, 2005.