Workers' Compensation Board

Agency Web Site: http://www.wcb.ny.gov/

Mission

The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board protects the rights of employees and employers by ensuring the proper delivery of benefits to those eligible due to being injured or becoming ill, and by promoting compliance with the law. To protect the well-being of New York’s labor force, most private and public sector employers in New York are required to carry workers’ compensation and disability benefits insurance for their employees or demonstrate their ability to self-insure. The Board aims to administer an efficient and responsive workers’ compensation and disability benefits system that promotes optimal medical outcomes, prompt wage replacements, and timely resolution of issues.

The Board also administers the Disability Benefits program which includes the recently enacted Paid Family Leave (PFL) law. PFL is landmark legislation which will help New York families who are trying to balance work and financial obligations with caring loved ones. PFL became effective on January 1, 2018 and the Board is leading the effort to seamlessly implement the program’s regulations and processes associated with this new law.

Organization and Staffing

The Board is headed by a Chairperson selected by the Governor and includes 12 additional full-time members nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate for seven-year terms. District offices are located in Albany, Binghamton, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Hauppauge, Manhattan, Queens, Rochester and Syracuse; with the administrative office in Schenectady. The Board has additional customer service centers located throughout the State.

Budget Highlights

The FY 2019 Executive Budget recommends $216.5 million All Funds for the Workers’ Compensation Board, all of which is funded by assessments on businesses. This amount is an increase of $21.1 million from FY 2018. This increase is to continue the Business Process Re-Engineering that was funded in 2016. The Executive Budget projects a staffing level of 1,110 in FY 2019, which is unchanged from FY 2018.

Program Highlights

In August 2013, the Board began a multi-phase project to re-envision the Workers’ Compensation System in New York State. The Business Process Re-Engineering (BPR) began with identifying the needs of stakeholders in the system which included conducting outreach to both internal and external system participants and stakeholders, collecting feedback and recommendations to issues impacting the delivery of benefits and overall operation of the system. The FY 2016 Executive Budget included a $60 million capital appropriation for the Workers’ Compensation Board and this funding, in addition to the $20 million new capital in FY 2019, continues to enable the WCB to address long standing shortcomings within the current NYS workers’ compensation system and position the Board to meet its emerging needs.

The Board will continue the implementation phase of the project with two key initiatives described below that are expected to leverage technology and utilize performance statistics through data collection to inform and change inefficient processes impacting the delivery of benefits.

Video Conferencing: New hearing room technology was piloted in FY 2018 and is already improving customer service to claimants and other stakeholders who typically went to a Board office for hearings previously. The new technology has also significantly improved and expedited the on-site hearing experience. The Board’s videoconferencing equipment has provided opportunities to conduct hearings from virtually any location that has internet access.

Business Information System: The Board, in conjunction with ITS, has finalized and released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the procurement of services for the analysis, design and build of a web-based portal that will replace the Board’s aging technology systems. Award of a contract to a qualified vendor is expected in FY 2019.

Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/16/2018