BILL NUMBER: S4973
SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to removing
labor market attachment requirements for certain disability cases
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA:
To eliminate the need to show a Labor Market Attachment (LMA) to receive
Workers' Compensation and remove the suspension of benefits as a conse-
quence for an inability to meet LMA.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends the opening paragraph of paragraph W of
subdivision 3 of section 15 of the workers' compensation law to elimi-
nate the necessity to demonstrate an attachment to the labor market to
receive labor compensation for injured employees.' This section also
removes the suspension of benefits due to the inability to meet LMA
requirements.
Section two further amends the appropriate section of the workers'
compensation law to state that in cases of temporary partial disability,
compensation under this subdivision shall be payable without the neces-
sity for the injured employee to demonstrate LMA.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Labor market attachment (LMA) is a requirement in the workers' compen-
sation system for temporarily, partially disabled workers to demonstrate
that they are seeking employment they can perform while disabled. The
Workers' Compensation Law itself does not require injured workers to
look for work while receiving indemnity benefits, or payments for lost
time. However, due to case law, workers must demonstrate labor market
attachment or their lost time payments can be suspended.
LMA is routinely raised as a cost-savings measure by workers' compen-
sation insurers as a reason to stop paying wage replacement benefits. In
addition, there is no acknowledgment that workers face increased diffi-
culty reattaching to the labor market after a work-related injury, espe-
cially while still recovering and in need of ongoing medical treatment.
Moreover, the requirement to demonstrate an attachment to the labor
market is a difficult burden for older employees with limited vocational
skills and education, as well as for workers who are undocumented. While
immigration status is not a factor in obtaining workers compensation
benefits, it is a factor in keeping them. For example, an undocumented
worker who only has experience as a physical laborer will likely have
difficulty finding sedentary work if they have limited language skills
and lack relevant work experience.
Lastly, while the New York State Workers Compensation Board has voca-
tional rehabilitation services available to workers, we rely on existing
state workforce resources provided by the Department of Labor or State
Education Department, which fall short of addressing the needs of disa-
bled workers who are unable to return to their previous jobs due to
their medical impairments. They depend on their wage replacement bene-
fits to make ends meet, and by definition, these benefits are lower than
their pre-injury wages. A worker's failure to engage in the entirely
subjective "timely, diligent and persistent" or "active" efforts to
remain attached to the labor market when this is raised by an insurer is
financially detrimental. The most vulnerable workers inevitably suffer
more.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: S6074A - Referred to Labor
 
FISCAL IMPLICATION FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.