Bill Text: NY A01220 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to eligibility for classification as permanent total disability; includes inability to perform the full range of sedentary work or approval for federal social security disability benefits as a result of a compensable accident or occupational disease as constituting permanent total disability.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-04-29 - print number 1220b [A01220 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A01220-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         1220--B

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     January 7, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. BRONSON, REYES -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Labor --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted  as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted
          to the Committee on Labor in accordance with Assembly Rule 3,  sec.  2
          --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
          and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to  eligibil-
          ity for classification as permanent total disability

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 15 of  the  workers'  compensation
     2  law,  as  amended by chapter 675 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read
     3  as follows:
     4    1. Permanent total disability. In case of total disability adjudged to
     5  be permanent sixty-six and two-thirds per centum of the  average  weekly
     6  wages shall be paid to the employee during the continuance of such total
     7  disability.  Loss  of  both  hands,  or both arms, or both feet, or both
     8  legs, or both eyes, or of any two thereof, or inability to  perform  the
     9  full  range  of  sedentary work, or approval for federal social security
    10  disability benefits as a result of a  compensable  accident  or  occupa-
    11  tional  disease shall, in the absence of conclusive proof to the contra-
    12  ry, constitute permanent total disability.  In all other cases permanent
    13  total disability shall be  determined  in  accordance  with  the  facts.
    14  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an injured employee
    15  disabled  due  to  the  loss  or total loss of use of both eyes, or both
    16  hands, or both arms, or both feet, or both legs, or of any  two  thereof
    17  shall not suffer any diminution of his compensation by engaging in busi-
    18  ness  or  employment  provided his earnings or wages, when combined with
    19  his compensation, shall not be in excess of the wage base on  which  the
    20  maximum  weekly compensation benefit is computed under the law in effect
    21  at time of such earning;  further  provided,  that  if  the  combination

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04929-07-1
        A. 1220--B                          2

     1  exceeds  such  wage  base,  the  compensation  shall be diminished to an
     2  amount which, together with his earnings or wages, shall equal the  wage
     3  base;  and  further  provided  that  the application of this subdivision
     4  shall  not result in reduction of compensation which an injured employee
     5  who is disabled due to the loss or total loss of use of  both  eyes,  or
     6  both hands, or both arms, or both feet, or both legs or of any two ther-
     7  eof,  would  otherwise  be entitled to under any other provision of this
     8  section.  For the purposes of this section,  inability  to  perform  the
     9  full range of sedentary work shall mean the inability to exert up to ten
    10  pounds  of  force occasionally or up to one-third of the workday, or the
    11  inability to exert a negligible amount  of  force  frequently  to  lift,
    12  carry,  push,  pull, or otherwise move objects, including the home body,
    13  and examples of the inability to perform the  full  range  of  sedentary
    14  work  shall  include  but  not be limited to the inability to sit for at
    15  least six hours in an eight-hour day and occasionally walk or stand  for
    16  no  more than two hours in an eight-hour day. In circumstances where the
    17  inability to perform the full  range  of  sedentary  work  involves  the
    18  performance  of unskilled sedentary work, related activities of a non-e-
    19  xertional nature such as seeing, hand-manipulation,  and  understanding,
    20  remembering, and carrying out simple instructions shall be considered.
    21    §  2.  This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to inju-
    22  ries subject to the provisions of the workers' compensation law  arising
    23  on and after the effective date of this act.