Senate Bill S4826

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4826
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 13, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. C. RYAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
 
 AN ACT to amend the volunteer firefighters' benefit law, in relation  to
   making  technical  changes  regarding  compensation;  and to amend the
   workers' compensation law, in relation to requiring employers  to  pay
   compensation awards even if an appeal of such award has been filed
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 47 of the volunteer firefighters'  benefit  law  is
 amended to read as follows:
   § 47. Costs  and  fees.  The  provisions of section twenty-four of the
 [workmen's] WORKERS' compensation law shall be applicable as fully as if
 set forth in this chapter.
   § 2. The first undesignated paragraph of section 23  of  the  workers'
 compensation  law,  as  amended by section 3 of subpart A of part NNN of
 chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   An award or decision of the board shall be final and  conclusive  upon
 all  questions  within  its  jurisdiction,  as against the state fund or
 between the parties, unless reversed or modified on appeal therefrom  as
 hereinafter  provided.  Any party may within thirty days after notice of
 the filing of an award or decision of a referee, file with the board  an
 application  in  writing  for  a modification or rescission or review of
 such award or decision, as provided in this  chapter.  The  board  shall
 render  its  decision upon such application in writing and shall include
 in such decision a statement of the facts which formed the basis of  its
 action on the issues raised before it on such application. Within thirty
 days after notice of the decision of the board upon such application has
 been  served  upon the parties, or within thirty days after notice of an
 administrative redetermination review decision by the chair pursuant  to
 subdivision five of section fifty-two, section one hundred thirty-one or
 section one hundred forty-one-a of this chapter has been served upon any
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09573-01-5
              

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 party  in  interest,  an  appeal may be taken therefrom to the appellate
 division of the supreme court, third department, by any party in  inter-
 est, including an employer insured in the state fund; provided, however,
 that  any  party  in interest may within thirty days after notice of the
 filing of the board panel's decision with the secretary  of  the  board,
 make application in writing for review thereof by the full board. If the
 decision or determination was that of a panel of the board and there was
 a  dissent  from such decision or determination other than a dissent the
 sole basis of which is to refer the case to an impartial specialist,  or
 if  there was a decision or determination by the panel which reduced the
 loss of wage earning capacity finding  made  by  a  compensation  claims
 referee  pursuant  to  subparagraph  w  of  subdivision three of section
 fifteen of this article from a percentage at or above the percentage set
 forth in subdivision three of section thirty-five of this article where-
 by a claimant would be eligible to apply for an extreme  hardship  rede-
 termination  to  a  percentage below the threshold, the full board shall
 review and affirm, modify or rescind such decision or  determination  in
 the  same  manner as herein above provided for an award or decision of a
 referee. If the decision or determination was that of a unanimous  panel
 of the board, or there was a dissent from such decision or determination
 the sole basis of which is to refer the case to an impartial specialist,
 the  board  may  in  its  sole  discretion  review and affirm, modify or
 rescind such decision or determination in  the  same  manner  as  herein
 above  provided  for an award or decision of a referee. Failure to apply
 for review by the full board shall not bar any party  in  interest  from
 taking  an appeal directly to the court as above provided. The board may
 also, in its discretion  certify  to  such  appellate  division  of  the
 supreme  court,  questions of law involved in its decision. Such appeals
 and the question so certified shall be heard in  a  summary  manner  and
 shall  have  precedence  over  all  other civil cases in such court. The
 board shall be deemed a party to every such  appeal  from  its  decision
 upon  such  application,  and the chair shall be deemed a party to every
 such appeal  from  an  administrative  redetermination  review  decision
 pursuant  to  subdivision five of section fifty-two of this chapter. The
 attorney general shall represent the board and  the  chair  thereon.  An
 appeal  may also be taken to the court of appeals in the same manner and
 subject to the same limitations not  inconsistent  herewith  as  is  now
 provided  in the civil practice law and rules. It shall not be necessary
 to file exceptions to the rulings of the board. An appeal to the  appel-
 late division of the supreme court, third department, or to the court of
 appeals,  shall  not  operate  as  a stay of the payment of compensation
 required by the terms of the award or of the payment of the cost of such
 medical, dental, surgical, optometric or  other  attendance,  treatment,
 devices,  apparatus or other necessary items the employer is required to
 provide pursuant to section thirteen of this article which are found  to
 be  fair  and reasonable. Where such award is modified or rescinded upon
 appeal, the appellant shall be entitled to reimbursement in a sum  equal
 to  the  compensation in dispute paid to the respondent in addition to a
 sum equal to the cost of such medical, dental, surgical,  optometric  or
 other attendance, treatment, devices, apparatus or other necessary items
 the employer is required to provide pursuant to section thirteen of this
 article  paid  by the appellant pending adjudication of the appeal. Such
 reimbursement shall be paid from administration expenses as provided  in
 section  one hundred fifty-one of this chapter upon audit and warrant of
 the comptroller upon vouchers approved by the chair. Where such award is
 subject to the provisions of section twenty-seven of this  article,  the
 S. 4826                             3
 
 appellant  shall  pay  directly  to  the claimant all compensation as it
 becomes due during the pendency of the appeal, and upon affirmance shall
 be entitled to credit for such payments. Neither the chair,  the  board,
 the  commissioners of the state insurance fund nor the claimant shall be
 required to file a bond upon an appeal to the  court  of  appeals.  Upon
 final  determination  of such an appeal, the board or chair, as the case
 may be, shall enter an order in accordance therewith.  WHENEVER A NOTICE
 OF APPEAL IS SERVED OR AN APPLICATION  IS  MADE  TO  THE  BOARD  BY  THE
 EMPLOYER  OR  INSURANCE CARRIER FOR A MODIFICATION, RESCISSION OR REVIEW
 OF AN AWARD OR DECISION, SUCH NOTICE OF APPEAL OR APPLICATION SHALL  NOT
 PERMIT  AN  EMPLOYER  OR CARRIER FROM NOT PAYING THE COMPENSATION TO THE
 CLAIMANT AS PROVIDED IN THIS CHAPTER. Whenever a  notice  of  appeal  is
 served  or an application made to the board by the employer or insurance
 carrier for a modification or rescission or review of an award or  deci-
 sion,  and the board shall find that such notice of appeal was served or
 such application was made for the purpose of  delay  or  upon  frivolous
 grounds,  the board shall impose a penalty in the amount of five hundred
 dollars upon the employer or insurance carrier, which penalty  shall  be
 added  to  the  compensation  and  paid  to  the claimant. The penalties
 provided herein shall be collected in like  manner  as  compensation.  A
 party  against  whom  an  award of compensation shall be made may appeal
 from a part of such award. In such a case the payment of  such  part  of
 the award as is not appealed from shall not prejudice any rights of such
 party  on  appeal,  nor be taken as an admission against such party. Any
 appeal by an employer  from  an  administrative  redetermination  review
 decision pursuant to subdivision five of section fifty-two of this chap-
 ter shall in no way serve to relieve the employer from the obligation to
 timely  pay  compensation  and  benefits otherwise payable in accordance
 with the provisions of this chapter.
   § 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of  section  25  of  the  workers'
 compensation  law,  as  amended  by  chapter  61 of the laws of 1986, is
 amended to read as follows:
   (c) The board shall keep an accurate  record  of  all  hearings  held.
 Whenever a hearing must be continued or adjourned because the carrier or
 employer  has  engaged in dilatory tactics or exhibited unjustified lack
 of preparedness, the board  shall  impose  a  penalty  of  [twenty-five]
 SEVENTY  dollars  to  be  paid to the fund created by subdivision two of
 section one hundred fifty-one of this chapter and shall in addition make
 an award of [seventy-five] TWO HUNDRED dollars payable  to  the  injured
 worker  or  [his  or  her]  SUCH  INJURED  WORKER'S dependants. Dilatory
 tactics may include but shall not be limited to:   failing  to  subpoena
 medical witnesses or to secure an order to show cause as directed by the
 referee,  failing  to  bring proper files, failing to appear, failing to
 produce witnesses or documents after they have  been  requested  by  the
 referee  or examiner or as directed by the hearing notice, unnecessarily
 protracting the production of evidence, [or] engaging in  a  pattern  of
 delay  which  unduly delays resolution, OR A REQUEST FOR A MODIFICATION,
 RESCISSION OR REVIEW OF AN AWARD OR DECISION DEEMED BY THE BOARD  TO  BE
 MADE  FOR THE PURPOSE OF DELAY OR UPON FRIVOLOUS GROUNDS, except that no
 penalty shall be imposed nor award made under this  subdivision  if  the
 carrier  or  employer produces evidence sufficient to excuse its conduct
 to the satisfaction of the referee.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.