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Issues Facing the Next New York Workers’ Comp Board Chair

The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board faced yet another challenge recently when its head announced that he was leaving for another job. Chairman Zachary S. Weiss, who has held the position since October 2007, will be moving on to become a judge in the Social Security system.

Weiss took the helm of the NY Workers’ Comp Board at the behest of then Governor Elliott Spitzer not long after major reform laws had been passed targeting some very serious issues at the Board. Billing himself as an “engineer of change” Weiss was expected to do great things with the much maligned NY workers’ comp system.

While Weiss did accomplish some worthwhile goals, there are still major issues facing the Workers’ Comp Board. Reforms to date have not addressed some of the most pervasive issues with the system, and the next chairman will have his or hands full if the Board is to be completely reformed.

NY Workers’ Comp Board: What is Left to Do

There are some major issues remaining at the New York Workers’ Compensation Board. Some of these most stubborn flaws were exposed in a three-piece investigation by the New York Times that we commented on extensively. Issues like the injured workers being left in limbo after an accident, rulings of partial disability that end careers, the adversarial relationship between employers and employees, not-so-independent medical exams, and the bloated, inefficient bureaucracy at the NY workers’ comp board.

Here are a few big issues that remain to be tackled:

  • No documentation regarding the extent of worker fraud. This is an issue because in the news media and popular perception workers who are allegedly taking the system for a free ride are the biggest problem. While there are workers out there perpetrating fraud, they are a minority – the real issues are businesses that don’t pay their fair share, employers that bully injured workers, and the Board’s own inefficient and frankly adversarial system. If accurate statistics were maintained to document worker fraud, policy makers, law enforcement officials, the media and the public could focus their attention on the real problems and stop blaming injured men and women.
  • Doctors fabricating bills. This is an issue because injured workers are often at the mercy of “independent” medical exams paid for by the very insurance company trying to avoid providing benefits. There are documented cases of doctors saying one thing to an injured worker but writing up something completely different for the insurance company. Until this issue is addressed, workers have no hope of receiving fair compensation for their injuries.
  • Employers underpaying insurance premiums. This issue, where employers pay less than they owe in insurance premiums, has a two-fold effect. Because there is there less money going into the workers’ comp “pot”, the cost of premiums go up for all other businesses and there is less money to pay injured workers. One way businesses pay less than they owe is by classifying a high-risk employee, like a construction worker, as a low-risk employee like a secretary.
  • Employers underreporting the size of their workforce. This is similar to the point above. Because the amount a business pays for workers’ comp insurance is based on the size of their workforce, some businesses deliberately lie about the number of people they employ. Again, this raises premium costs for everyone and leaves injured worker with paltry compensation.

Do you want to fight the system?

It isn’t all doom and gloom. There are people who are fighting for the rights of injured New York workers, people like the attorneys at Markhoff & Mittman. If you would like to discuss your workers’ comp case with a skilled, compassionate attorney for no cost and no obligation then please contact their office today. You can also order their free book, “Five Deadly Sins that Can Derail Your New York Workers Compensation Case”.

Markhoff & Mittman, P.C.

14 Mamaroneck Avenue

Suite 400

White Plains, NY 10601

Toll Free: (866) 205-2415

Phone: (914) 946-1452

Fax: (914) 946-0810


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