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New York�s New Workers� Comp System (Cont.)

February 27th, 2007 Posted by Mark

The value of the new workers’ comp system can not be understated for employers in the state, and that explains why I am not going to stop talking about it just yet. In the workers’ comp world, this is big news. And since the average employer out there deals with workers’ comp issues, perhaps on a daily basis, I know you guys, my loyal readers, can appreciate what a little workers’ comp reform means.

Just grasp this—according the governor’s office, the new workers’ comp reforms in the state could save the overall economy about $500 million per year. That is a big number. For employers alone, the estimates are that the new workers’ comp system could save you guys as much as 10 percent to 15 percent off your workers’ comp insurance premiums.

This could be one of the biggest reforms in the New York workers’ comp system since it was created way back in 1914. New York, as with many of the state systems that we have looked at in the last few months, is what is called a no-fault insurance system, so that employers get benefits if they are hurt, while employers cannot be blamed for any injury that employees get benefits for. Yet in New York, court cases and disagreements have happened because workers’ comp insurance companies then challenge the worker.

To tackle some of these issues, and to stop fraud in the system, the new reforms would automatically ban any employer who gets caught cheating the system from getting any state or city work contracts for five years. One example of this could be an employer who lies about how many employees they have, in order to pay a lesser insurance premium. State officials could also shut down any construction project where the workers aren’t covered by workers’ comp.