Two years. No. In New Jersey, your employee usually has 2 years to file a formal workers' comp claim, and paying cash under the table does not erase that deadline or make the claim disappear.

If the injury happened on the job in Newark, you do not get to make it a private deal just because the worker says okay today. That is the myth that costs employers money.

New Jersey workers' comp is supposed to run through your workers' compensation carrier, not your checkbook. The employee generally must give notice within 90 days, but once you know about the injury, sitting on it is asking for trouble. Your carrier should be notified right away so the claim can be reported properly to the state system through the New Jersey Division of Workers' Compensation process.

Here is the raw truth: a cash payment can be used against you later as proof you knew it was work-related and tried to keep it off the books.

That means you can end up with:

• a workers' comp claim anyway
• disputed coverage with your insurer
• a policy renewal mess at year-end
• allegations of retaliation or interference if you pressured the employee not to report

If the worker has a serious injury like a meniscus tear or collapsed lung, the medical costs can blow past a quick cash deal fast. And if someone else caused it - a subcontractor, delivery driver, property owner, equipment company - your employee may also have a separate third-party injury case. Your off-books payment does nothing to block that.

If there is going to be a settlement in a New Jersey workers' comp case, it is typically done formally through the court system, often under Section 20 or Section 22, with a judge's approval. A handshake in the shop is not the same thing.