Extends the period given to certain applicants for public assistance benefits to request a fair hearing on a determination of their ability to participate in work activities from ten days to sixty days or within sixty days of receipt of a work activity assignment.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3093
SPONSOR: Anderson TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to extending the
period given to certain applicants for public assistance benefits to
request a fair hearing
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill extends the time allowed for a disabled applicant for, or
recipient of, public assistance to request a fair hearing on the suit-
ability of a work assignment.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
This bill would extend from 10 to 6o days the time allowed for an appli-
cant 'for, or recipient of, public assistance to request a fair hearing
to contest a determination of disability made by an examining medical
professional or work assignment made by the social services district.
This bill would further provide that when the applicant has made a time-
ly request for such fair hearing, no work activity may be enforced pend-
ing the hearing and determination.
JUSTIFICATION:
Under existing law, when an applicant or recipient of public assistance,
or a local social services district, has reason to believe that a phys-
ical or mental impairment may prevent the applicant or recipient from
fully engaging in work activities, the applicant or recipient has the
opportunity to submit documentation of his or her condition and receive
may be referred to an OTDA certified health care practitioner for
further medical evaluation to verify the condition. Based on the
documentation and the examination, a determination is made that the
applicant or recipient is: (1) disabled and unable to work; (2) able to
engage in work activities with stated limitations; or (3) neither disa-
bled nor "work limited." Upon receiving notice of this determination of
disability, the applicant or recipient has in days to request a fair
hearing of the determination. This bill would amend § 332-b(6) of the
Social Services Law to extend the time allowed to request a fair hearing
to 60 days, in order to make this time period consistent with the time
allowed for requesting other types of fair hearings under the Social
Services Law.
Disabled public assistance recipients are frequently assigned to work
activities that are either impossible to perform given their medical
condition or hazardous to their health. In fact, one disabled recipient
suffered a fatal heart attack while assigned to perform sanitation
duties that were incompatible with her documented medical history.
Although currently given the opportunity to request a fair hearing to
contest a work assignment, disabled applicants and recipients of public
assistance are rarely able to meet the 10 day deadline to request such
hearing because they are not informed of the specific duties that will
be required at the work assignment until the 10 day period has expired.
Therefore, once they recognize that their work assignment will exceed
their capabilities or pose a threat to their health, it is too late to
challenge it.
Under existing law, applicants and recipients seeking to appeal almost
any other decision by a local social services district have 6o days to
request a fair hearing. Applicants and recipients of food stamps have go
days to request a hearing with regard to their food stamp benefits. It
is unreasonable to substantially reduce the time allotted to the most
vulnerable public assistance recipients - the disabled - to request a
fair hearing, particularly when their health and safety may be in
jeopardy.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S799 Comrie/ A7670 Anderson
2022: S7449- Passed Senate
2019-2020: A.2717; 2017-2018: A.3041; 2015-2016: A.4852; 2013-2014:
A.3404; 2011: A.2965; 2009: A.1306; 2007: Passed Assembly, Bill A.7550;
2004: Passed Assembly; 2002: Passed Assembly; 2001: Passed Assembly;.
2000: Referred to Social Services Committee.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3093
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 23, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ANDERSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Social Services
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to extending the
period given to certain applicants for public assistance benefits to
request a fair hearing
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 332-b of the social services law,
2 as added by section 148 of part B of chapter 436 of the laws of 1997, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 6. When an applicant or recipient receives notification of the examin-
5 ing medical professional's disability determination, [he or she] they
6 shall also be notified of [his or her] the right to request a fair hear-
7 ing within [ten] sixty days of such notice or within sixty days of
8 receipt of a work activity assignment. If such applicant timely
9 requests a fair hearing, no assignment to work activities pursuant to
10 this title may be made or enforced pending such hearing and determi-
11 nation unless the applicant or recipient agrees to a limited work
12 assignment not inconsistent with the medical condition alleged by such
13 person. Provided, however, that if a social services district has
14 reason to believe that such recipient or applicant does not actually
15 suffer from a work limiting condition, the district shall provide the
16 applicant or recipient with notice of potential sanctions pursuant to
17 subdivision three of section three hundred forty-two of this title, and
18 provided further that recipients will be subject to sanctions pursuant
19 to subdivision three of section three hundred forty-two of this title if
20 the district determines, based on clear medical evidence, that there is
21 no basis for the individual's claim that [he or she is] they are unable
22 to fully engage in work activities, and that the individual inten-
23 tionally misrepresented [his or her] their medical condition.
24 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04925-01-5
