New York Workers Compensation Alliance

2007 will go down in history as a year of revolutionary reform in the New York Workers' Compensation Law.  However, tremendous uncertainty remains among injured workers, medical providers and attorneys about the eventual impact of the the reform legislation.  Many important issues for injured workers are unresolved  and subject to future Workers' Compensation Board regulation, interpretation and various task force recommendations.

For these reasons, the New York Workers' Compensation Alliance must remain vigilant in defending the rights of injured workers in 2008.  We are working closely with with both the new Chairman of the Workers' Compensation Board, Hon. Zachary Weiss, and our friends in both the State Assembly and the State Senate to protect the due process rights of injured workers.   Chairman Weiss will be speaking at our upcoming meeting in New York City. Our  Legislative Counsel, Richard Winsten, Esq., continues to work tirelessly on our behalf in the corridors and back rooms of the capitol in Albany.

Please download the attached 2008 WCA Membership Application and Key-person form and join the WCA's fight to protect injured workers.  As you can imagine, their are substantial costs to have our  voices heard in Albany.  The entire Board of Governors of the WCA serve voluntarily and without any remuneration.  Our costs are primarily related to supporting our legislative counsel and contributing to candidates that share our belief that injured workers deserve swift and fair compensation and medical care, in addition to to a hearing upon request at the Workers' Compensation Board. 

Please  consider joining the WCA today and return to this site for future legislative updates.  If you have any questions regarding membership or other activities of the Workers' Compensation Alliance, please call Co-Chairs John Sciortino (585-455-1015) or Troy Rosasco (631-582-3700 x123).  Thank  you.

Posted By WCA In Alliance Goals , Alliance News , Breaking News , Contact the Alliance , NY Workers' Compensation Reform | 0 Comments Permalink

Short Term Goals

Defeat those provisions in Governor Pataki's current Workers' Compensation "Reform" Bill which take away rights and benefits which injured workers currently enjoy;Defeat Governor Pataki's proposal to "cap" benefits for permanent disabilities;

Defeat Governor Pataki's proposal to cut in half benefits for permanent injuries to arms, hands, legs and feet;

Defeat Governor Pataki's proposal to take away an injured worker's right to a judicial hearing;

Defeat Governor Pataki's proposal to eliminate an injured workers' right to use his/her own pharmacist;

Implement an indexed benefit rate increase for injured workers, which has not been raised in 14 years. The current maximum workers compensation rate in New York is $400/week and has not changed since 1992. New Jersey's maximum workers' compensation rate is $891 and Connecticut's is $931! How fair is that?

Long Term Goals

Elect representatives committed to protecting the health, safety and economic security of injured workers;

Convince representatives and employers that increasing workers' compensation costs has more to do with insurance company profiteering than abuses of the system;

Remind representatives of the "historic compromise" between workers and employers which created the Workers' Compensation Law. Workers gave up their right to sue the employer for their injuries in return for a fair and just workers' compensation system;

Urge prosecutors to crack down on rampant "employer fraud" and "uninsured employers", which costs honest employers additional premiums;

Give employers additional incentives to prevent worker injuries, rather than simply pay claims that could have been prevented;

Provide permanently disabled workers with job retraining programs so they can reenter the workforce.