NY Workers Comp Board Hunting for Delinquent Business Owners

Fraud and incompetence have been big issues for the New York Workers’ Compensation Board; they face issues from unacceptably long wait times for injured workers to receive compensation to biased medical exams paid for by insurance companies.

What is the latest controversy from the Board?  In the last 10 weeks the NY Workers’ Comp Board has filed ten thousand judgments against businesses accused of failing to pay what they owe in workers’ comp premiums.  The filings are the result of an effort to clear a backlog going back to 2006.

Technology has allowed the Board to sniff out businesses that might owe money for workers’ comp premiums.  The Board has been cross-checking NY state databases to come up with a list of businesses that need follow-up.

A spokesperson for the Board said that the recent 10,000 judgments were backlogged due to a staff shortage.  Letters were originally sent to the businesses in question in 2006, and since the Board received no reply the issue was handed over to a collection agency.

In cases where the business in question can’t be found or the Board doesn’t get a response – like with these 10,000 businesses – a judgment is filed by the Workers’ Comp Board.  The spokesperson stated that the Board was “open to discussing these fines with employers.”

The Board may be out of luck in many cases.  Since it has taken so long for them to issue judgments, many businesses have closed and no longer exist.  Any money they are able to collect will go to the Workers’ Compensation Uninsured Employers Fund.  This fund is used to pay claims for workers injured at companies without insurance.