05-13-11 JAMES BARACIA VS. BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE STATE POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM
A-3611-09T2
An employer's payment of its pro rata share of petitioner's attorney's fees incurred in the prosecution of a third-party action in which the employer received reimbursement of its statutory workers' compensation lien and was relieved of its future workers' compensation liability does not constitute a payment of compensation under N.J.S.A. 34:15-40(b). As a consequence, petitioner's accidental disability retirement allowance from the State Police was not subject to a dollar-for- dollar reduction under N.J.S.A. 53:5A-38.1(b) because it was not compensation or payment of a periodic benefit under the workers' compensation scheme, but represented a credit for the employer's portion of the attorney's fee in the third-party recovery lawsuit.
