NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1076
SPONSOR: Zebrowski TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to workplace
safety and loss prevention programs
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to update the annual payroll amount that
triggers the requirement for employers to undergo a workplace safety and
loss prevention consultation and written evaluation.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill amends Section 134 of the workers' compensation
law by changing the $800,000 annual payroll threshold to $1.2 million.
Annually thereafter, the payroll threshold would be adjusted based upon
data in the Employment Cost Index reported by the United States Bureau
of Labor Statistics.
Section two of the bill relates to the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The Workplace Safety & Loss Prevention Program was created in 1997 by
statute to reduce workplace injuries. The program is required for all
employers whose most recent annual payroll is in excess of $800,000 and
whose most recent experience rating exceeds the level of 1.2. Employers
who meet these criteria are required to undergo a workplace safety and
loss prevention consultation and evaluation. Employers required to
undergo a consultation and evaluation must pay a fee for the required
consultation, which must be performed by a certified consultant. These
fees can be substantial. Any additional costs incurred during the course
of the consultation, such as sampling, laboratory fees and laboratory
reports, must be paid by the employer in addition to the consultation
fee. If remedial action is recommended by the consultant, it must be
implemented by the employer within six months. Employers can spend
several thousands of dollars to comply with the requirements of the
statute.
Over the last 21 years, payrolls have increased substantially. The law,
which was originally intended to apply to larger employers, is now
capturing smaller ones because the payroll threshold has not been
adjusted. A recent annual report of the Workers Compensation Insurance
Rating Board, which administers the program, indicates a 46% increase in
the number of employers' who were required to undergo a safety and loss
prevention consultation and evaluation in 2014 compared to 2013. The
failure to update the payroll threshold to reflect current labor costs
is resulting in increased administrative and financial burdens on New
York's small businesses.
Therefore, the $800,000 payroll threshold
needs to be adjusted to reflect today's payroll costs. Based upon the
increase in wages and salaries of private industry workers as reported
by in the Employment Cost Index published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, a payroll threshold of $800,000 in 1997 would equate today
to approximately $1.2 million.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.1130 of 2021-22,
A.3547 of 2019-20,
A.1458-A of 2017-18,
A.9807 of 2015-16.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which is shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1076
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 13, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ZEBROWSKI, STIRPE, HUNTER, THIELE -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to workplace
safety and loss prevention programs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 134 of the workers' compen-
2 sation law, as amended by chapter 6 of the laws of 2007 and subdivision
3 1 as further amended by section 104 of part A of chapter 62 of the laws
4 of 2011, are amended to read as follows:
5 1. The commissioner of labor, in consultation with the superintendent
6 of financial services and the chair of the board shall develop a compul-
7 sory workplace safety and loss prevention program for all employers
8 whose most recent annual payroll is in excess of [eight] one million two
9 hundred thousand dollars and whose most recent experience rating exceeds
10 the level of 1.2. The commissioner of labor shall adjust the annual
11 payroll amount in this subdivision annually beginning on the first of
12 March next succeeding the date on which the chapter of the laws of two
13 thousand twenty-three that amended this subdivision shall have become
14 law. Such adjustment shall be based on the percentage increase in the
15 wages and salaries for private industry workers for the preceding calen-
16 dar year as stated in the Employment Cost Index reported by the United
17 States Bureau of Labor Statistics. The commissioner of labor shall
18 promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of safety, drug
19 and alcohol prevention, and return to work incentive programs.
20 2. The commissioner of labor shall provide written notification to
21 employers whose most recent annual payroll is in excess of [eight] one
22 million two hundred thousand dollars and whose most recent experience
23 rating exceeds the level of 1.2 that they are required to undergo a
24 workplace safety and loss prevention consultation and written evalu-
25 ation. Copies of the written notification shall be provided to the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03241-01-3
A. 1076 2
1 department of labor and the employer's insurer. The employer must
2 arrange for the consultation and evaluation within thirty days after
3 receiving the notification and must within ten days thereafter notify
4 its insurer and the department of labor in writing of the means by which
5 the evaluation is to be accomplished. The employer must provide its
6 insurer and the department of labor with a copy of the evaluation within
7 thirty days after receiving it from the safety and loss consultant. Any
8 remedial action recommended in the evaluation must be implemented by the
9 employer within a reasonable period of time, but not to exceed six
10 months after the employer receives the evaluation. The insurer, within
11 sixty days after the expiration of such six month period, shall conduct
12 an inspection to ascertain whether the recommended remedial action has
13 been implemented, and the insurer shall within forty-five days thereaft-
14 er provide to the employer and the department of labor a copy of its
15 inspection report.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
17 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
