Prohibits cases from being closed without a hearing or written stipulation, requires a stenographic record of all hearings held and requires minutes and decisions to be provided to the injured worker in their native language.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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7843
IN SENATE
February 26, 2020
___________
Introduced by Sen. RAMOS -- 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 prohibit-
ing cases from being closed without a hearing or written stipulation
and requiring a stenographic record of all hearings held; and to
repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2-b of section 25 of the workers' compensation
2 law is REPEALED and subdivision 2-c is renumbered subdivision 2-b.
3 § 2. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 3 of section 25 of the
4 workers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 61 of the laws of 1986,
5 are amended to read as follows:
6 (b) Nothing herein shall limit the right of the board in a particular
7 case to hold a hearing and make an award in accordance with other
8 provisions of this chapter. No case shall be closed and no decision
9 shall be issued without a hearing upon notice to all parties interested
10 and without giving to all such parties an opportunity to be heard.
11 (c) The board shall keep an accurate stenographic record of all hear-
12 ings held and provide the minutes, at no cost, to the injured worker and
13 their representative in the native language of the injured worker. All
14 decisions shall be issued to the injured worker in their native
15 language. Whenever a hearing must be continued or adjourned because the
16 carrier or employer has engaged in dilatory tactics or exhibited unjus-
17 tified lack of preparedness, the board shall impose a penalty of twen-
18 ty-five dollars to be paid to the fund created by subdivision two of
19 section one hundred fifty-one of this chapter and shall in addition make
20 an award of seventy-five dollars payable to the injured worker or his or
21 her dependants. Dilatory tactics may include but shall not be limited
22 to: failing to subpoena medical witnesses or to secure an order to show
23 cause as directed by the referee, failing to bring proper files, failing
24 to appear, failing to produce witnesses or documents after they have
25 been requested by the referee or examiner or as directed by the hearing
26 notice, unnecessarily protracting the production of evidence, or engag-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15089-02-0
S. 7843 2
1 ing in a pattern of delay which unduly delays resolution, except that no
2 penalty shall be imposed nor award made under this subdivision if the
3 carrier or employer produces evidence sufficient to excuse its conduct
4 to the satisfaction of the referee.
5 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
