STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1845
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 15, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. GALLIVAN -- 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 applicable
average weekly wage
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 16 of section 2 of the workers' compensation
2 law, as added by chapter 6 of the laws of 2007 and as further amended by
3 section 104 of part A of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to
4 read as follows:
5 16. "[New York state] Applicable average weekly wage" shall mean the
6 lesser of: (i) the average weekly wage of the state of New York for the
7 previous calendar year as reported by the commissioner of labor to the
8 superintendent of financial services on March thirty-first; or (ii) the
9 average weekly wage of the economic development region, pursuant to
10 section two hundred thirty of the economic development law, in which the
11 employee resides as reported by the commissioner of labor to the super-
12 intendent of financial services on March thirty-first. Provided, howev-
13 er, that the applicable average weekly wage shall not be less than seven
14 hundred ninety-two dollars.
15 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 6 of section 15 of the workers'
16 compensation law, as amended by section 7-a of part GG of chapter 57 of
17 the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
18 (a) Compensation for permanent or temporary total disability due to an
19 accident or disablement resulting from an occupational disease that
20 occurs, (1) on or after January first, nineteen hundred seventy-eight,
21 shall not exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars per week, that occurs
22 (2) on or after July first, nineteen hundred seventy-eight, shall not
23 exceed one hundred eighty dollars per week, that occurs (3) on or after
24 January first, nineteen hundred seventy-nine, shall not exceed two
25 hundred fifteen dollars per week, that occurs (4) on or after July
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01295-01-5
S. 1845 2
1 first, nineteen hundred eighty-three, shall not exceed two hundred
2 fifty-five dollars per week, that occurs (5) on or after July first,
3 nineteen hundred eighty-four, shall not exceed two hundred seventy-five
4 dollars per week, that occurs (6) on or after July first, nineteen
5 hundred eighty-five, shall not exceed three hundred dollars per week,
6 that occurs (7) on or after July first, nineteen hundred ninety, shall
7 not exceed three hundred forty dollars per week; and in the case of
8 temporary total disability shall not be less than thirty dollars per
9 week and in the case of permanent total disability shall not be less
10 than twenty dollars per week except that if the employee's wages at the
11 time of injury are less than thirty or twenty dollars per week respec-
12 tively, he or she shall receive his or her full weekly wages. Compen-
13 sation for permanent or temporary partial disability due to an accident
14 or disablement resulting from an occupational disease that occurs (1) on
15 or after January first, nineteen hundred seventy-eight, shall not exceed
16 one hundred five dollars per week, that occurs (2) on or after July
17 first, nineteen hundred eighty-three, shall not exceed one hundred twen-
18 ty-five dollars per week, that occurs (3) on or after July first, nine-
19 teen hundred eighty-four, shall not exceed one hundred thirty-five
20 dollars per week, that occurs (4) on or after July first, nineteen
21 hundred eighty-five, shall not exceed one hundred fifty dollars per
22 week, that occurs (5) on or after July first, nineteen hundred ninety,
23 shall not exceed two hundred eighty dollars per week; nor be less than
24 twenty dollars per week; except that if the employee's wages at the time
25 of injury are less than twenty dollars per week, he or she shall receive
26 his or her full weekly wages. In no event shall compensation when
27 combined with decreased earnings or earning capacity exceed the amount
28 of wages which the employee was receiving at the time the injury
29 occurred. Compensation for permanent or temporary partial disability, or
30 for permanent or temporary total disability due to an accident or disa-
31 blement resulting from an occupational disease that occurs (1) on or
32 after July first, nineteen hundred ninety-one and prior to July first,
33 nineteen hundred ninety-two, shall not exceed three hundred fifty
34 dollars per week; (2) on or after July first, nineteen hundred ninety-
35 two, shall not exceed four hundred dollars per week; nor be less than
36 forty dollars per week except that if the employee's wages at the time
37 of injury are less than forty dollars per week, the employee shall
38 receive his or her full wages. Compensation for permanent or temporary
39 partial disability, or for permanent or temporary total disability due
40 to an accident or disablement resulting from an occupational disease
41 that occurs (1) on or after July first, two thousand seven shall not
42 exceed five hundred dollars per week, (2) on or after July first, two
43 thousand eight shall not exceed five hundred fifty dollars per week, (3)
44 on or after July first, two thousand nine shall not exceed six hundred
45 dollars per week, and (4) on or after July first, two thousand ten, and
46 on or after July first of each succeeding year, shall not exceed two-
47 thirds of the [New York state] applicable average weekly wage for the
48 year in which it is reported. Compensation for permanent or temporary
49 partial disability, or for permanent or temporary total disability due
50 to an accident or disablement resulting from an occupational disease
51 that occurs on or after July first, two thousand seven shall not be less
52 than one hundred dollars per week except that if the employee's wages at
53 the time of injury are less than one hundred dollars per week, the
54 employee shall receive his or her full wages. Compensation for perma-
55 nent or temporary partial disability, or for permanent or temporary
56 total disability due to an accident or disablement resulting from an
S. 1845 3
1 occupational disease that occurs on or after May first, two thousand
2 thirteen shall not be less than one hundred fifty dollars per week
3 except that if the employee's wages at the time of injury are less than
4 one hundred fifty dollars per week, the employee shall receive his or
5 her full wages. In no event shall compensation when combined with
6 decreased earnings or earning capacity exceed the amount of wages the
7 employee was receiving at the time the injury occurred. Compensation for
8 permanent or temporary partial disability, or for permanent or temporary
9 total disability due to an accident or disablement resulting from an
10 occupational disease or injury that occurred as a result of World Trade
11 Center rescue activity by an employee of a private voluntary hospital,
12 who passed a physical examination upon employment as a rescue worker
13 that failed to reveal evidence of a condition that was the proximate
14 cause of disablement or occupational disease or injury, shall not exceed
15 three-quarters of a claimant's wage on September eleventh, two thousand
16 one. In no event shall compensation when combined with decreased earn-
17 ings or earning capacity exceed the amount of wages the employee was
18 receiving on September eleventh, two thousand one.
19 § 3. Subdivision 5 of section 52 of the workers' compensation law, as
20 amended by section 19 of part GG of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is
21 amended to read as follows:
22 5. The chair, upon finding that an employer has failed for a period of
23 not less than ten consecutive days to make the provision for payment of
24 compensation required by section fifty of this article, may impose upon
25 such employer, in addition to all other penalties, fines or assessments
26 provided for in this chapter, a penalty of up to two thousand dollars
27 for each ten day period of non-compliance or a sum not in excess of two
28 times the cost of compensation for its payroll for the period of such
29 failure, which sum shall be paid into the uninsured employers' fund
30 created under section twenty-six-a of this chapter. When an employer
31 fails to provide business records sufficient to enable the chair to
32 determine the employer's payroll for the period requested for the calcu-
33 lation of the penalty provided in this section, the imputed weekly
34 payroll for each employee, corporate officer, sole proprietor, or part-
35 ner shall be the [New York state] applicable average weekly wage, multi-
36 plied by 1.5. Where the employer is a corporation, the president, secre-
37 tary and treasurer thereof shall be liable for the penalty. If the
38 employer shall within thirty days after notice of the imposition of a
39 penalty by the chair pursuant to this subdivision make an application in
40 affidavit form for a redetermination review of such penalty the chair
41 shall make a decision in writing on the issues raised on such applica-
42 tion.
43 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
