Workers' Compensation Board

Mission

The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board protects the rights of employees and employers by ensuring the proper delivery of benefits to eligible individuals who are injured or become 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 helps New York families who are trying to balance work and financial obligations with caring for 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 2020 Executive Budget recommends $196.4 million in All Funds appropriation, all of which is funded by assessments on businesses. This amount remains flat from the previous fiscal year. The Board will continue to move forward with a multi year Business Process Re-Engineering project which is supported by $67.2 million in Capital reappropriations. The Executive Budget projects a staffing level of 1,109 in FY 2020, which is unchanged from the previous year.

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. Prior Executive Budgets have included $80 million in capital appropriations to enable the Board to address long standing shortcomings within the current system and position the Board to meet its emerging needs.

The Board will continue the implementation phase with two key initiatives:

Video Hearing Conferencing (VHC):

VHC has been successfully rolled out to 24 of 26 hearing locations across the state. The remaining sites are expected to be completed in the coming fiscal year. This new technology has significantly improved and expedited the hearing process. On average, about 39% of hearings have virtual participation at some level. In conjunction with video hearing conferencing, the mobile VHC App was completed and launched in FY 2019.

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 2020.

ALL FUNDS
APPROPRIATIONS
(dollars)
Category	Available FY 2019	Appropriations Recommended FY 2020	Change From FY 2019	Reappropriations Recommended FY 2020
State Operations	196,439,000	196,439,000	0	0
Capital Projects	20,000,000	0	(20,000,000)	67,150,000
Total	216,439,000	196,439,000	(20,000,000)	67,150,000

ALL FUND TYPES
PROJECTED LEVELS OF EMPLOYMENT BY PROGRAM
FILLED ANNUAL SALARIED POSITIONS
Program	FY 2019 Estimated FTEs 03/31/19	FY 2020 Estimated FTEs 03/31/20	FTE Change
Workers Compensation
Special Revenue Funds - Other	1,109	1,109	0
Total	1,109	1,109	0

STATE OPERATIONS
ALL FUNDS FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS BY FUND TYPE
APPROPRIATIONS
(dollars)
Fund Type	Available FY 2019	Recommended FY 2020	Change
Special Revenue Funds - Other	196,439,000	196,439,000	0
Total	196,439,000	196,439,000	0
Adjustments:
Transfer(s) To
Employee Relations, Office of
General Fund	104,000
Appropriated FY 2019	196,543,000

STATE OPERATIONS
ALL FUNDS FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS BY PROGRAM
APPROPRIATIONS
(dollars)
Program	Available FY 2019	Recommended FY 2020	Change
Workers Compensation
Special Revenue Funds - Other	196,439,000	196,439,000	0
Total	196,439,000	196,439,000	0

STATE OPERATIONS - OTHER THAN GENERAL FUND
SUMMARY OF APPROPRIATIONS AND CHANGES
FY 2020 RECOMMENDED
(dollars)
Program	Total		Personal Service
Program	Amount	Change	Amount	Change
Workers Compensation	196,439,000	0	84,892,000	0
Total	196,439,000	0	84,892,000	0

STATE OPERATIONS - OTHER THAN GENERAL FUND
SUMMARY OF APPROPRIATIONS AND CHANGES
FY 2020 RECOMMENDED CONTINUED
(dollars)
Program	Nonpersonal Service
Program	Amount	Change
Workers Compensation	111,547,000	0
Total	111,547,000	0

CAPITAL PROJECTS
ALL FUNDS FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS BY PROGRAM
APPROPRIATIONS
(dollars)
Comprehensive Construction Program	Available FY 2019	Recommended FY 2020	Change	Reappropriations FY 2020
Information Technology Program
WCB IT Bus Process Design	20,000,000	0	(20,000,000)	67,150,000
Total	20,000,000	0	(20,000,000)	67,150,000

Note: Most recent estimates as of 1/15/2019

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