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Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Substituted by A619
- Ordered to third reading cal.1302
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to uninterrupted payment of disability benefits
Signed by Governor · Sponsor Brian Kavanagh
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S5108 REVISED 08/12/10
Title of bill
An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to payment of disability benefits
Purpose
To require that injured workers receiving disability benefits under article 9 of the workers' compensation law be given reasonable time to respond to any inquiry that requires timely response in order to avoid a disruption in benefits, and clear notice of the consequences of failure to respond.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 1 of section 208 of the workers' compensation law, to require that when timely payment of disability benefits under article 9 of the workers' compensation law is contingent on the recipient's timely response to an inquiry from the insurer, the insurer shall provide a reasonable time period for response, and clear notice of the consequences of failing to respond by the deadline. Section 2 of the bill sets forth the effective dale.
Justification
It is unacceptable for injured workers receiving benefits under the workers' compensation law (WCL) to suffer any delay or lapse in payment for failure to follow requirements that are not disclosed to them. Too often, insurers send injured workers written requests for information but fail to provide a reasonable period in which to respond, or any indication that failure to respond could result in a delay in benefits. Recipients accustomed to regular direct deposit of benefit checks, for example, who have no reason to expect a problem, incur hundreds of dollars in penalties for bounced checks and worse for missing the response deadline, Recovering from this kind of disruption can be particularly difficult for recipients relying on their benefits as a primary or sole source of income.
Currently the WCL does not require advance notice of a potential disruption in benefits for failure to timely respond to an inquiry. This bill would correct that omission for recipients of benefits under the disability benefits law (article 9 of the WCL), which provides cash benefits to partially replace wages lost due to injuries or illnesses that do not arise out of or in the course of employment insurance benefits to unemployed workers to replace unemployment insurance benefits lost because of illness.
Legislative history
2009: A.00691 (Kavanagh) - Labor 2008: A.07522 (Kavanagh) - Labor 2007: A.07522 (Kavanagh) - Labor 2006: A.08266 (Grannis) - Labor 2005: A.08266 (Grannis) - Labor
Fiscal impact on the state
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after enactment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.