§ 33.09 Employment of patients.

(a) The department shall encourage employment of patients as part of
therapeutic, community care, or release programs and shall promote
training of patients for gainful employment. The commissioner shall
adopt regulations to further the purposes of this section.

(b) A patient employed by a facility shall receive compensation for
his services in accordance with applicable state and federal labor laws.
Any such employment shall be subject to regulations of the commissioner
as to the nature and circumstances of the employment.

(c) The provisions of the workers' compensation law, the unemployment
insurance law, and articles thirteen, nineteen, and twenty of the labor
law shall not apply to any patient in a facility with respect to his
participation in a sheltered workshop program, provided, however, that
participants in sheltered workshop programs operated by the office of
mental health, the office for people with developmental disabilities or
voluntary agencies or institutional worker programs operated by the
office of mental health shall be eligible for workers' compensation
benefits (excluding benefits provided pursuant to article nine of the
workers' compensation law) if such offices or agencies elect to provide
such benefits. Sheltered workshops operated at department facilities
shall be subject to the laws and regulations applicable to sheltered
workshops operated by voluntary agencies.