S4176-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO LABOR
• Mar 22, 2011: REFERRED TO LABOR

S4176-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S4176

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to payment of
disability benefits

PURPOSE:
To require that injured workers receiving benefits under the
workers' compensation law be given reasonable time to respond to any
inquiry that requires timely response in order to avoid a disruption
in benefits and clear notice of the consequences of failure to respond.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 1 of
section 25 of the workers' compensation law to require that when
timely payment of benefits is contingent on the recipient's timely
response to an inquiry from the insurer, the insurer shall provide a
reasonable time period for response and clear notice of the
consequences of failing to respond by the deadline. Section 2 of the
bill sets forth the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:
It is unacceptable for injured workers receiving
benefits under the Workers' Compensation Law ("WCL") to suffer any
delay or lapse in payment for failure to follow requirements that are
not disclosed to them. Too often, insurers send injured workers
written requests for information but fail to provide a reasonable
period in which to respond or any indication that failure to respond
could result in a delay in benefits.
Recipients accustomed to regular direct deposit of benefit checks, for
example, who have no reason to expect a problem, incur hundreds of
dollars in penalties for bounced checks and worse for missing the
response deadline.
Recovering from this kind of disruption can be particularly difficult
for recipients relying on their benefits as the primary or sole
source of income.

With the enactment of A.00619/S.5108 in August 2010, the law was
amended to remedy this situation with respect to workers receiving
disability benefits under WCL Article 9. This bill would provide the
same remedy for the much larger number of workers receiving benefits
under other sections of the WCL which do not require advance notice
of a potential disruption in benefits for failure to timely respond
to any inquiry.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2010 - No Senate bill; A.11711 Died in the Labor Committee.

FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after
it shall have become a law.

S4176-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    4176

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                               March 22, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen.  SAVINO -- 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 payment of
    disability benefits

    THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section  1.  Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 25 of the work-
  ers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 635 of the laws of 1996, is
  amended to read as follows:

    (a) The compensation herein provided for shall  be  paid  periodically
  and promptly in like manner as wages, and as it accrues, and directly to
  the  person  entitled thereto without waiting for an award by the board,
  including those cases previously established and  closed  by  the  board
  upon  receipt  of  an  application  to reopen such case, except in those
  cases in which the right to compensation is controverted by the  employ-
  er.    ANY  INQUIRY  WHICH  REQUIRES THE EMPLOYEE'S RESPONSE IN ORDER TO
  CONTINUE BENEFITS UNINTERRUPTED OR UNMODIFIED SHALL PROVIDE A REASONABLE
  TIME PERIOD IN WHICH TO RESPOND AND INCLUDE A CLEAR AND PROMINENT STATE-
  MENT OF THE DEADLINE FOR RESPONDING AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF  FAILING  TO
  RESPOND.
    S  2.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
  have become a law.




   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD00057-01-1