S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8429--B
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
May 15, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON, JACOBSON -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Labor -- reported and referred to the Committee on
Ways and Means -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to establish-
ing a fraud assessment commission and an assessment for workers'
compensation fraud investigations; and to amend the state finance law,
in relation to establishing the workers' compensation fraud investi-
gation fund
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds that
construction employers shave a significant amount off their labor costs
through workers' compensation premium fraud. They do that by taking
advantage of workers' compensation insurer practices that enable fraud.
Employer workers' compensation premium fraud is costing insurers $5
billion a year and it's costing law-abiding employers and their employ-
ees jobs. The Century Foundation hired economists to study and write a
report on fraud in the U.S. construction industry that has detailed the
impacts of these practices extensively; 10 to 19 percent of construction
workers who should be treated as employees are not. That's 1.1 to 2.1
million workers, ultimately resulting in $10 billion or more in unpaid
federal and state taxes.
The legislature finds that New York state must generate additional
resources to ensure that the workers' compensation fraud inspector
general and local prosecutors have the resources available to investi-
gate and prosecute employer workers' compensation fraud cases and cases
relating to the willful failure to secure the payment of workers'
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11529-04-5
A. 8429--B 2
compensation. This will help combat broader rampant wage theft through-
out the construction industry.
§ 2. The workers' compensation law is amended by adding two new
sections 151-a and 151-b to read as follows:
§ 151-A. FRAUD ASSESSMENT COMMISSION. THERE IS HEREBY ESTABLISHED A
FRAUD ASSESSMENT COMMISSION, WHICH SHALL CONSIST OF TEN MEMBERS
APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR AS FOLLOWS: THREE MEMBERS FROM A BONA FIDE
LABOR ORGANIZATION, TWO MEMBERS FROM SELF-INSURED EMPLOYERS, TWO MEMBERS
FROM INSURED EMPLOYERS, TWO MEMBERS FROM INSURERS, AND ONE CLAIMANT
ATTORNEY. THE TERM OF OFFICE SHALL BE FOUR YEARS, AND A MEMBER SHALL
HOLD OFFICE UNTIL THE APPOINTMENT OF A SUCCESSOR. THE CHAIR OF THE WORK-
ERS' COMPENSATION BOARD, THE COMMISSIONER OF LABOR, AND THE INSPECTOR
GENERAL SHALL BE EX OFFICIO VOTING MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.
§ 151-B. ASSESSMENT FOR WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS. TO
FUND THE INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD,
WILLFUL FAILURE TO SECURE PAYMENT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION PUNISHABLE
UNDER SECTION FIFTY-TWO OF THIS CHAPTER, AND FAILURE TO KEEP TRUE AND
ACCURATE RECORDS AS REQUIRED UNDER SECTION ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-ONE OF
THIS CHAPTER, THE CHAIR OF THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD, IN CONSULTA-
TION WITH THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD INSPECTOR GENERAL AND THE
FRAUD ASSESSMENT COMMISSION SHALL ESTABLISH, BY THE FIRST DAY OF NOVEM-
BER, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE, AND ANNUALLY THEREAFTER, AN ASSESSMENT
FOR WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS WHICH SHALL BE BORNE BY
AFFECTED EMPLOYERS SECURING COMPENSATION FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES PURSUANT TO
SECTION FIFTY OF THIS CHAPTER. THE ASSESSMENT FOR WORKERS' COMPENSATION
FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS SHALL BE IN ADDITION TO ASSESSMENTS FOR ANNUAL
EXPENSES ESTABLISHED IN SECTION ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-ONE OF THIS ARTICLE.
ALL ASSESSMENTS COLLECTED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL BE CREDITED TO
THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD INVESTIGATION FUND UNDER SECTION NINE-
TY-NINE-TT OF THE STATE FINANCE LAW AND SHALL BE AVAILABLE FOR THE USES
AND PURPOSES OF SUCH FUND.
§ 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-tt to
read as follows:
§ 99-TT. WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD INVESTIGATION FUND. 1. THERE IS
HEREBY ESTABLISHED IN THE JOINT CUSTODY OF THE CHAIR OF THE WORKERS'
COMPENSATION BOARD, THE COMMISSIONER OF LABOR, AND THE COMPTROLLER A
SPECIAL FUND TO BE KNOWN AS THE "WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD INVESTI-
GATION FUND".
2. SUCH FUND SHALL CONSIST OF MONIES RECEIVED FROM THE IMPOSITION OF
THE ASSESSMENT FOR WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS PURSUANT
TO SECTION ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-ONE-B OF THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW, AND
ALL OTHER MONIES APPROPRIATED, CREDITED, OR TRANSFERRED THERETO FROM ANY
OTHER FUND OR SOURCE PURSUANT TO LAW.
3. MONIES IN THE FUND, PURSUANT TO APPROPRIATION BY THE LEGISLATURE,
ISSUANCE OF A CERTIFICATE OF AVAILABILITY BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE BUDGET,
AND A DETERMINATION BY THE CHAIR OF THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD IN
CONSULTATION WITH THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, WITH THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF
THE FRAUD ASSESSMENT COMMISSION AS TO THE MOST EFFECTIVE DISTRIBUTION OF
MONIES, MAY BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR PURPOSES OF THE INVESTIGATION AND
PROSECUTION OF EMPLOYER WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD CASES, CASES RELAT-
ING TO THE WILLFUL FAILURE TO SECURE THE PAYMENT OF WORKERS' COMPEN-
SATION, AND CASES RELATING TO THE FAILURE TO KEEP TRUE AND ACCURATE
RECORDS.
4. AT LEAST FIFTY PERCENT OF THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD INVESTI-
GATION FUND ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL BE DISTRIBUTED TO
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS FOR PURPOSES OF THE INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF
A. 8429--B 3
WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD CASES, CASES RELATING TO THE WILLFUL FAILURE
TO SECURE THE PAYMENT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION, AND CASES RELATING TO
THE FAILURE TO KEEP TRUE AND ACCURATE RECORDS. IF A DISTRICT ATTORNEY IS
DETERMINED BY THE CHAIR OF THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD OR THE
INSPECTOR GENERAL TO BE UNWILLING OR UNABLE TO INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE
WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD CLAIMS, CLAIMS RELATING TO THE WILLFUL FAIL-
URE TO SECURE THE PAYMENT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION, OR CLAIMS RELATING
TO THE FAILURE TO KEEP TRUE AND ACCURATE RECORDS, THE COMMISSIONER OF
LABOR SHALL DISCONTINUE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS ALLOCATED FOR SUCH COUNTY
AND MAY REDISTRIBUTE SUCH FUNDS ACCORDING TO THIS SECTION.
5. MONIES SHALL BE PAYABLE FROM THE FUND ON THE AUDIT AND WARRANT OF
THE COMPTROLLER ON VOUCHERS APPROVED AND CERTIFIED BY THE COMMISSIONER
OF LABOR.
6. MONIES IN THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD INVESTIGATION FUND SHALL
BE KEPT SEPARATE AND SHALL NOT BE COMMINGLED WITH ANY OTHER MONIES IN
THE CUSTODY OF THE CHAIR OF THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD, THE COMMIS-
SIONER OF LABOR AND/OR THE COMPTROLLER.
7. TO THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE, THE COMMISSIONER OF LABOR SHALL ENSURE
THAT ALL MONIES RECEIVED DURING A FISCAL YEAR ARE EXPENDED PRIOR TO THE
END OF SUCH FISCAL YEAR.
8. BY THE THIRTIETH DAY OF JUNE, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE, AND ANNUAL-
LY THEREAFTER, THE CHAIR OF THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD, IN CONSUL-
TATION WITH THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD INSPECTOR GENERAL OR THE
FRAUD ASSESSMENT COMMISSION, SHALL DEVELOP AND RELEASE A REQUEST FOR
PROPOSALS AND APPLICATION PROCESS FOR THE FUNDS OUTLINED IN THIS
SECTION.
9. THE FRAUD ASSESSMENT COMMISSION SHALL PROVIDE QUARTERLY REPORTS TO
THE SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY, THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, THE
CHAIR OF THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE AND THE CHAIR OF THE ASSEMBLY WAYS
AND MEANS COMMITTEE, ON THE RECEIPTS AND DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE WORKERS'
COMPENSATION INVESTIGATION FUND, INCLUDING AN ITEMIZATION OF SUCH
RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS, THE HISTORICAL AND PROJECTED EXPENDITURES,
AND THE PROJECTED FUND BALANCE.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.