BILL NUMBER:  S5954

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to
liability for compensation

 PURPOSE :

To provide for PTSD coverage for State, City and Municipal Corrections
Officer under Workers' Compensation

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Amends paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of section 10 of the workers'
compensation law, as added by section 1 of subpart I of part NNN of
chapter 59 of the laws of 2017 to add:

correction officers, sergeants, captains, corporals, lieutenants,
deputy wardens or wardens employed by the State, the City of New York
or any county or municipality to those who should be covered for work
related mental injury due to work related stress despite any finding
that the s stress was not greater than that which normally occurs in
the work environment to allow for workers compensation coverage for
these injuries.

              

 JUSTIFICATION :

In the 2017 budget PTSD coverage was added for certain first
responders who face stress-related injuries but were barred from such
coverage due to court rulings that this was in the normal course of
their occupation.

Correction Officers face this same problem. Court cases have
interpreted that mental stress was not out of the ordinary for
Correction Officers therefore making stress-related claims for
workers' compensation not compensable. This must be corrected to
provide the officers with appropriate health coverage and provide for
a secure work environment within out State, City and County
correctional facilities

According to, Correctional Officer Health and Safety Literature Review
a 2013 report by the U.S. Department of Justice, Corrections Officers
face many different stressors among them:

* Inmate-related: threat of violence/injury, inmate mental illness,
substance abuse

* Occupational: closed work environment and need for hyper-vigilance

* Organizational/administrative: inadequate resources and
understaffing

* Psycho-social: fear, work/family conflict, media scrutiny.

Correction Officers must provide care, custody and control over an
often-uncooperative inmate population. Findings of a new IDC report:
Corrections Without Protections: The Increasing Dangers Facing New
York's Boldest Officers. This report focuses on the alarming increase
in assaults by inmates on correction officers, the rise in contraband
entering jails and prisons, and the increase in inmate on inmate
assaults, despite the decline in the inmate population in the state of
New York.

Providing workers' compensation coverage for stress-related injuries
will ensure the safety of our state correctional facilities, but
providing for proper health coverage for those suffering and seeking
help for stress related injuries.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New Bill.

 FISCAL IMPACT :

None to State or Local Governments.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
The act shall take effect immediately.