S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         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:
    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    S 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    S 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    S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.