S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  1845

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            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:

  Section  1.  Subdivision  16 of section 2 of the workers' compensation
law, as added by chapter 6 of the laws of 2007 and as further amended by
section 104 of part A of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is  amended  to
read as follows:
  16.  "[New  York state] APPLICABLE average weekly wage" shall mean THE
LESSER OF: (I) the average weekly wage of the state of New York for  the
previous  calendar  year as reported by the commissioner of labor to the
superintendent of financial services on March thirty-first; OR (II)  THE
AVERAGE  WEEKLY  WAGE  OF  THE  ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGION, PURSUANT TO
SECTION TWO HUNDRED THIRTY OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LAW, IN WHICH THE
EMPLOYEE RESIDES AS REPORTED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF LABOR TO THE  SUPER-
INTENDENT  OF FINANCIAL SERVICES ON MARCH THIRTY-FIRST. PROVIDED, HOWEV-
ER, THAT THE APPLICABLE AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE SHALL NOT BE LESS THAN SEVEN
HUNDRED NINETY-TWO DOLLARS.
  S 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 6 of  section  15  of  the  workers'
compensation  law, as amended by section 7-a of part GG of chapter 57 of
the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
  (a) Compensation for permanent or temporary total disability due to an
accident or disablement resulting  from  an  occupational  disease  that
occurs,  (1)  on or after January first, nineteen hundred seventy-eight,
shall not exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars per week,  that  occurs
(2)  on  or  after July first, nineteen hundred seventy-eight, shall not
exceed one hundred eighty dollars per week, that occurs (3) on or  after
January  first,  nineteen  hundred  seventy-nine,  shall  not exceed two
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

first,  nineteen  hundred  eighty-three,  shall  not  exceed two hundred
fifty-five dollars per week, that occurs (5) on  or  after  July  first,
nineteen  hundred eighty-four, shall not exceed two hundred seventy-five
dollars  per  week,  that  occurs  (6)  on or after July first, nineteen
hundred eighty-five, shall not exceed three hundred  dollars  per  week,
that  occurs  (7) on or after July first, nineteen hundred ninety, shall
not exceed three hundred forty dollars per week;  and  in  the  case  of
temporary  total  disability  shall  not be less than thirty dollars per
week and in the case of permanent total disability  shall  not  be  less
than  twenty dollars per week except that if the employee's wages at the
time of injury are less than thirty or twenty dollars per  week  respec-
tively,  he  or she shall receive his or her full weekly wages.  Compen-
sation for permanent or temporary partial disability due to an  accident
or disablement resulting from an occupational disease that occurs (1) on
or after January first, nineteen hundred seventy-eight, shall not exceed
one  hundred  five  dollars  per  week, that occurs (2) on or after July
first, nineteen hundred eighty-three, shall not exceed one hundred twen-
ty-five dollars per week, that occurs (3) on or after July first,  nine-
teen  hundred  eighty-four,  shall  not  exceed  one hundred thirty-five
dollars per week, that occurs (4)  on  or  after  July  first,  nineteen
hundred  eighty-five,  shall  not  exceed  one hundred fifty dollars per
week, that occurs (5) on or after July first, nineteen  hundred  ninety,
shall  not  exceed two hundred eighty dollars per week; nor be less than
twenty dollars per week; except that if the employee's wages at the time
of injury are less than twenty dollars per week, he or she shall receive
his or her full weekly  wages.  In  no  event  shall  compensation  when
combined  with  decreased earnings or earning capacity exceed the amount
of wages which the  employee  was  receiving  at  the  time  the  injury
occurred. Compensation for permanent or temporary partial disability, or
for  permanent or temporary total disability due to an accident or disa-
blement resulting from an occupational disease that  occurs  (1)  on  or
after  July  first, nineteen hundred ninety-one and prior to July first,
nineteen hundred  ninety-two,  shall  not  exceed  three  hundred  fifty
dollars  per  week; (2) on or after July first, nineteen hundred ninety-
two, shall not exceed four hundred dollars per week; nor  be  less  than
forty  dollars  per week except that if the employee's wages at the time
of injury are less than forty  dollars  per  week,  the  employee  shall
receive  his  or her full wages. Compensation for permanent or temporary
partial disability, or for permanent or temporary total  disability  due
to  an  accident  or  disablement resulting from an occupational disease
that occurs (1) on or after July first, two  thousand  seven  shall  not
exceed  five  hundred  dollars per week, (2) on or after July first, two
thousand eight shall not exceed five hundred fifty dollars per week, (3)
on or after July first, two thousand nine shall not exceed  six  hundred
dollars  per week, and (4) on or after July first, two thousand ten, and
on or after July first of each succeeding year, shall  not  exceed  two-
thirds  of  the  [New York state] APPLICABLE average weekly wage for the
year in which it is reported. Compensation for  permanent  or  temporary
partial  disability,  or for permanent or temporary total disability due
to an accident or disablement resulting  from  an  occupational  disease
that occurs on or after July first, two thousand seven shall not be less
than one hundred dollars per week except that if the employee's wages at
the  time  of  injury  are  less  than one hundred dollars per week, the
employee shall receive his or her full wages.   Compensation for  perma-
nent  or  temporary  partial  disability,  or for permanent or temporary
total disability due to an accident or  disablement  resulting  from  an

S. 1845                             3

occupational  disease  that  occurs  on or after May first, two thousand
thirteen shall not be less than  one  hundred  fifty  dollars  per  week
except  that if the employee's wages at the time of injury are less than
one  hundred  fifty  dollars per week, the employee shall receive his or
her full wages. In  no  event  shall  compensation  when  combined  with
decreased  earnings  or  earning capacity exceed the amount of wages the
employee was receiving at the time the injury occurred. Compensation for
permanent or temporary partial disability, or for permanent or temporary
total disability due to an accident or  disablement  resulting  from  an
occupational  disease or injury that occurred as a result of World Trade
Center rescue activity by an employee of a private  voluntary  hospital,
who  passed  a  physical  examination upon employment as a rescue worker
that failed to reveal evidence of a condition  that  was  the  proximate
cause of disablement or occupational disease or injury, shall not exceed
three-quarters  of a claimant's wage on September eleventh, two thousand
one. In no event shall compensation when combined with  decreased  earn-
ings  or  earning  capacity  exceed the amount of wages the employee was
receiving on September eleventh, two thousand one.
  S 3. Subdivision 5 of section 52 of the workers' compensation law,  as
amended  by  section 19 of part GG of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is
amended to read as follows:
  5. The chair, upon finding that an employer has failed for a period of
not less than ten consecutive days to make the provision for payment  of
compensation  required by section fifty of this article, may impose upon
such employer, in addition to all other penalties, fines or  assessments
provided  for  in  this chapter, a penalty of up to two thousand dollars
for each ten day period of non-compliance or a sum not in excess of  two
times  the  cost  of compensation for its payroll for the period of such
failure, which sum shall be paid  into  the  uninsured  employers'  fund
created  under  section  twenty-six-a  of this chapter. When an employer
fails to provide business records sufficient  to  enable  the  chair  to
determine the employer's payroll for the period requested for the calcu-
lation  of  the  penalty  provided  in  this section, the imputed weekly
payroll for each employee, corporate officer, sole proprietor, or  part-
ner shall be the [New York state] APPLICABLE average weekly wage, multi-
plied by 1.5. Where the employer is a corporation, the president, secre-
tary  and  treasurer  thereof  shall  be  liable for the penalty. If the
employer shall within thirty days after notice of the  imposition  of  a
penalty by the chair pursuant to this subdivision make an application in
affidavit  form  for  a redetermination review of such penalty the chair
shall make a decision in writing on the issues raised on  such  applica-
tion.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.