What's happening
This bill requires workers' compensation hearings to be held within 45 days of a claim or application being filed.
Why it matters
Accelerates workers’ compensation dispute resolution. By mandating hearings within 45 days of a claim or application, the bill aims to reduce lengthy wait times that can delay medical treatment and wage replacement for injured workers.
Increases accountability for employers and insurers. Faster hearings limit the ability of employers or insurance companies to postpone or stall the process, ensuring that claims are addressed promptly and not left unresolved for extended periods.
Reduces financial and emotional stress for injured workers. Quicker hearings mean that injured employees may experience less financial hardship and uncertainty while waiting for their claims to be processed, supporting faster recovery and return to work.
Potential administrative challenges for the Workers’ Compensation Board. The requirement for expedited hearings may necessitate additional staffing, resources, or process changes to meet the new timeline, potentially impacting the board’s operations and workload.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Faster Workers’ Comp Hearings
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4337
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 10, 2017
Introduced by Sen. ALCANTARA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to hearings for determination of claims for compensation
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 20 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 635 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
1. At any time after the expiration of the first seven days of disability on the part of an injured employee, or at any time after the employee's death, a claim for compensation may be presented to the employer or to the chair. The board shall have full power and authority to determine all questions in relation to the payment of claims presented to it for compensation under the provisions of this chapter. The chair or board shall make or cause to be made such investigation as it deems necessary, and upon application of either party, shall order a hearing within forty-five days after the filing of a claim by an injured employee, and thereafter shall order a hearing within forty-five days of receipt of an application by either party, and within thirty days after a claim for compensation is submitted under this section, or such hearing closed, shall make or deny an award, determining such claim for compensation, and file the same in the office of the chair. Immediately after such filing the chair shall send to the parties a copy of the decision. Upon a hearing pursuant to this section either party may present evidence and be represented by counsel. The decision of the board shall be final as to all questions of fact, and, except as provided in section twenty-three of this article, as to all questions of law. Except as provided in section twenty-seven of this article, all awards of the board shall draw simple interest from thirty days after the making thereof at the rate provided in section five thousand four of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09881-01-7
S. 4337 2
the civil practice law and rules. Whenever a hearing or proceeding for the determination of a claim for compensation is begun before a referee, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, such hearing or proceeding or any adjourned hearing thereon shall continue before the same referee until a final determination awarding or denying compensation, except in the absence, inability or disqualification to act of such referee, or for other good cause, in which event such hearing or proceeding may be continued before another referee by order of the chair or board.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to hearings for determination of claims for compensation
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill provides for a claimant right to a hearing within forty-five days from the filing of a claim.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one of the bill amends § 20 of the workers' compensation law to require that a claimant be granted a hearing before a workers' compensation law judge within forty-five days of filing a claim
Justification
Historically, the Workers' Compensation Board created a file ("indexed" the claim) when it received a document from any source (the injured worker, the employer, or a health care provider) indicating that there had been a work-related injury. The Board would then schedule an initial hearing in every case.
There are many benefits to holding an initial hearing. Few injured workers have adequate knowledge about their right to benefits, and many have limited language and literacy proficiency. When an initial hearing is held, the Workers' Compensation Law Judge ("WCL Judge") is able to provide an appropriate explanation of rights and benefits to the injured worker depending on his or her situation. Where appropriate, the WCL Judge can also suggest that the worker obtain representation to assist in obtaining benefits. In addition, the attendance of the injured worker and the employer or insurer at an initial hearing expedites the accurate resolution of basic issues, such as the nature of the injury, the worker's pre-accident wage, the period and extent of disability, and the need for medical treatment.
The Workers' Compensation Board presently holds an initial hearing only when a claim for benefits is contested. Most other cases are decided without a hearing by the issuance of a decision prepared by Board staff after review of the documents in the file. These non-hearing determinations are issued only in English and do not adequately communicate information to injured workers about their rights and benefits. In cases where there is no lost time, the Board now issues no decision at all. There is broad agreement among stakeholders that these non-hearing determinations often contain errors and resolve issues less efficiently than can be done at a hearing.
Workers' Compensation Law § 20 guarantees the parties to a workers' compensation case the right to a hearing upon request. Instead, the Workers' Compensation Board presently responds to most hearing requests with written communications from its staff or with the issuance of non-hearing decisions. In order to obtain a hearing, stakeholders must often file repeated requests and wait for a prolonged period of time.
In order to resolve these issues, this bill directs the Workers' Compensation Board to schedule an initial hearing promptly after being notified of a work-related injury, and further directs it to schedule hearings promptly upon the request of a party. This will ensure that the concerns of injured workers and employers are addressed in a prompt and efficient manner, while reducing unnecessary paperwork and process.
Prior legislative history
None
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect 180 days following its enactment into law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.