Bateman/Pennacchio Bill Prevents Prisoners from Receiving Temporary Disability Benefits

February 17, 2011

Contact: John Gorman / (609) 847-3600
Senator Christopher Bateman, Senator Joe Pennacchio

Bateman/Pennacchio Bill Prevents Prisoners from Receiving Temporary Disability Benefits

A bill sponsored by Senators Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R-Somerset/Morris) and Joseph Pennacchio (R-Morris/Passaic) that prohibits payment of temporary disability benefits to incarcerated individuals passed the Senate today.

“If you break the law and are serving time in prison, you shouldn’t receive a disability check, ” Bateman stated. “You are already being fed, clothed and sheltered at the taxpayers’ expense. The limited money in disability funds should be reserved for hard working, law abiding citizens who need that money to survive.”

Bateman’s bill amends the “Temporary Disability Benefits Law, ” to prohibit benefits from being paid to any claimant during any period during which the claimant is incarcerated in any federal, State or municipal penal institution. The “Temporary Disability Benefits Law, was enacted to protect those workers unemployed because of illness or injury. The program covers all employers and employees who are subject to the unemployment compensation law.

“This is a common-sense bill that protects taxpayers and the integrity of our Unemployment and Disability benefits programs, ” concluded Pennacchio. “This bill will close a loophole that has existed for far too long.”