Senate Democrats Oppose Efforts To Weaken Workers’ Compensation Protections

Albany, NY - The Senate Democratic Conference sent a letter to the Workers’ Compensation Board expressing concern with the draft regulations set forth which would weaken protections for New York State workers injured on the job. The letter called on the Board to balance the concerns of businesses with those of hard-working New Yorkers.

The Senate Democrats’ expressed deep concerns with the fact that the draft regulations outlined by the Workers’ Compensation Board would “drastically reduce benefits for a wide range of workers and bears no reasonable relationship to ‘advances in modern medicine that enhance healing and result in better outcomes.’ In many cases, the regulations would wholesale eliminate compensation for seriously injured workers, and improved medical procedures do not justify eliminating the need for compensation for serious injuries. By placing a substantial number of injuries into categories that presume little to no compensation, the Board has made a policy judgment that exceeds questions of medical improvements and worker healing.”

To review the Senate Democratic Conference’s letter to the Workers’ Compensation Board, please visit: https://www.scribd.com/document/361838887/SDC-Workers-Compensation-Reform-Administrative-Comment