BILL NUMBER: S295

SPONSOR: RHOADS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to certain
claims for compensation based on a COVID-19 diagnosis; and providing for
the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof

 
PURPOSE:

TO amend the workers compensation law, in relation to certain claims for
compensation based on a COVID-19 diagnosis; and providing for the repeal
of such provisions upon the expiration thereof.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. The workers compensation law is amended by adding a new
section 3a to read as follows:  Reopening of claims for disability
caused by COVID-19. 1. A claim for compensation for disability based of
a diagnosis of COVID-19 shall not be disallowed if such claim is filed
within a year of the effective date of this section.
              

Section 2. The board shall permit the filing of claims for disability
due to COVID-19 which was previously denied.

This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed
repealed two years after such date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

During the first year of the pandemic, nearly 1.5 million working age
New Yorkers (18-64 years) were diagnosed with COVID-19 and 6,468 of them
died. Epidemiologic evidence suggests that 150,000 to 450,000 of those
cases occurred among workers, particularly those designated as "essen-
tial", who were exposed to COVID-19 on the job. However, only 21,000
workers filed COVID-19 claims during the first year of the pandemic.
The low number of COVID-19 claims can be attributed to a multitude of
factors, including, but not limited to, the urgency of the pandemic, the
limited state of medical knowledge at the time, and insufficient efforts
to inform workers of their eligibility. As a result, hundreds of thou-
sands of workers who were likely exposed to COVID-19 on the job will be
time-barred from filing a COVID-19 claim as of March 1 2023, because of
the two-year time limitation in the workers' compensation law.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determind.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed
repealed two years after such date.