2006 New York Code - Procedure And Payment Of Compensation In Claims Against Uninsured Defaulting Employers.

 
    §  26-a.  Procedure  and  payment  of  compensation  in claims against
  uninsured  defaulting  employers.  1.  (a)  Notwithstanding  any   other
  provision  of this chapter, when a claim for compensation is filed by an
  employee, or in case of death by  the  employee's  dependents,  and  the
  employer  has failed to secure the payment of compensation in accordance
  with section fifty of this chapter,  to  make  deposit  of  security  in
  accordance  with  section twenty-six of this chapter and to make payment
  of compensation into the fund created under this  section  according  to
  the  terms  of  any  award  including,  without  limitation, awards made
  pursuant to subdivision five of section thirteen-g, subdivision  two  of
  section  thirteen-f, subdivision five of section thirteen-k, subdivision
  five of section thirteen-l and subdivision six of section thirteen-m  of
  this  article, payment of the award shall be promptly made from the fund
  created under this section in accordance with the terms thereof and  the
  provisions  of  subdivision three of this section. The employer shall be
  liable with the fund for payment of the award. Where the employer  is  a
  corporation the president, secretary and treasurer thereof shall also be
  personally,  jointly  and  severally  liable  with  the  corporation for
  payment of the award. The employer shall pay the award into the fund, in
  accordance with the time limitations contained in section twenty-five of
  this article.
    (b) No such award, however, for any service specified  in  subdivision
  five   of   section   thirteen-a   of  this  article  requiring  advance
  authorization of the employer in accordance with the provisions of  such
  subdivision, shall be payable from the fund unless advance authorization
  therefor  was  secured  from  the  representative  of  the  fund  or  is
  determined by the board  to  be  necessary.  Notwithstanding  any  other
  provision under this section, awards made pursuant to section fourteen-a
  of  this article shall not be the liability of the fund and shall not be
  payable therefrom nor shall payment of the present value of benefits  be
  required  to  be  paid into the aggregate trust fund pursuant to section
  twenty-seven of  this  article  in  any  case  in  which  the  uninsured
  employers' fund is liable.
    2. Uninsured employers' fund. (a) There is hereby created a fund which
  shall  be  known  as  the "uninsured employers' fund" to provide for the
  payment of awards against uninsured employers  in  accordance  with  the
  provisions  of this section and shall be available only for the purposes
  stated in this subdivision, and the assets thereof shall not at any time
  be appropriated or directed to any other use or purpose.
    (b) For the purpose of establishing and  maintaining  this  fund,  the
  board,  upon  rendering  a  decision  with  respect  to  any  claim  for
  compensation under this chapter that the employer  liable  therefor  has
  failed  to  secure  the  payment of compensation with respect thereto in
  accordance  with  section  fifty  of  this  chapter,  shall  impose   an
  assessment  in the sum of two hundred fifty dollars against the employer
  and direct its payment into the fund in connection with each such  claim
  wherein  injury  shall  have  occurred  on  or  after  the first of May,
  nineteen hundred fifty-nine, or in death cases where death as the result
  of injury shall have occurred on or after said  date.  The  board  shall
  also  impose an additional assessment of fifteen per centum of the award
  or awards made in each such claim, such additional assessment shall  not
  be less than one thousand five hundred dollars and shall not exceed five
  thousand dollars in any one claim, and shall direct that such additional
  assessment also be paid into the fund.
    (c)  If the employer shall fail to pay these assessments into the fund
  within ten days after date of mailing of notice thereof to him  or  her,
  such  default  shall constitute a default in payment of compensation due
  pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-six  of  this  article  and
  judgment  therefor  shall  be entered in accordance therewith, all other
  provisions of said section to be deemed applicable with respect thereto,
  except to the extent that said provisions may  be  clearly  inconsistent
  with  the  provisions  of  this  section.  All  sums  collected  from an
  uninsured employer with respect to any claim for  compensation  referred
  to in this section but not payable from the fund, except fines collected
  from such employer pursuant to section fifty-two of this chapter whether
  such collection is made prior or subsequent to entry of judgment against
  such  employer,  shall  be  deemed  in payment of an applicable first in
  satisfaction of any compensation and benefits  due  from  such  employer
  with  respect  to  such claim and security demand, if any, in connection
  therewith and only when such obligations are satisfied in full shall the
  balance  of  said  sums  collected,  if  any,  be  deemed   payment   in
  satisfaction  of  and  applicable to the assessments above prescribed in
  this section.
    (d) All sums recovered from uninsured employers on  judgments  entered
  for  failure to pay assessments as hereinbefore provided and for failure
  to pay compensation and benefits which were paid from  the  fund  herein
  created, shall upon such recovery be paid into said fund.
    (e)  All  awards  made  on  or  after  July  first,  nineteen  hundred
  sixty-nine for every case of injury causing death for which there are no
  persons entitled to compensation, and where there are  persons  entitled
  to  compensation  but the total amount of such compensation is less than
  two or five thousand dollars as the case may  be  exclusive  of  funeral
  benefits,  pursuant  to  the  provisions of subdivision three of section
  twenty-five-a  of  this  article  shall  be  paid  into  the   uninsured
  employers' fund.
    (f)  As  promptly  as  practicable  after July first, nineteen hundred
  ninety-one and annually thereafter as soon as practicable after  January
  first  in  each succeeding year, the chair shall ascertain the condition
  of the uninsured employers' fund. The chair shall transfer to  the  fund
  out  of  the moneys collected pursuant to subdivision two of section one
  hundred fifty-one of this chapter an amount which  will  raise  the  net
  cash  assets  of the fund to the level of either the amount spent by the
  fund in the prior year, or the amount estimated to be  expended  by  the
  fund in the succeeding year, whichever is greater.
    3.  The commissioner of taxation and finance shall be the custodian of
  the uninsured employers'  fund  and  shall  invest  any  surplus  moneys
  thereof  in  securities  which  constitute legal investments for savings
  banks under the laws of this state and in interest bearing  certificates
  of  deposit  of  a  bank  or  trust company located and authorized to do
  business in this state or of a  national  bank  located  in  this  state
  secured by a pledge of direct obligations of the United States or of the
  state  of  New  York,  or  in  accordance with the provisions of section
  ninety-eight-a of the state finance law,  in  an  amount  equal  to  the
  amount  of  such  certificates  of  deposit,  and  may  sell  any of the
  securities or certificates of deposit in which such fund is invested, if
  necessary for the proper administration or in the best interest of  such
  fund.  Disbursements from such fund as provided by this section shall be
  paid by the commissioner of taxation and finance upon vouchers signed by
  the chairman.
    The commissioner of taxation and finance, as custodian of  such  fund,
  as  soon  as  practicable after August first, nineteen hundred sixty-two
  and annually thereafter, shall furnish to the chairman of  the  board  a
  statement  of  the fund, setting forth the balance of moneys in the said
  fund as of the time of the preceding statement, the income of the  fund,
  a summary of payments out of the fund on account of compensation ordered
  to  be  paid therefrom by the board, medical and other expenses, and all
  other charges against the fund in the  interim  and  setting  forth  the
  balance  of the fund remaining to its credit as of the end of the period
  being reported. Such statement shall be open to public inspection in the
  office  of  the chairman, and a copy thereof shall be transmitted by the
  chairman to the  superintendent  of  insurance.  The  superintendent  of
  insurance may examine into the condition of such fund at any time on his
  own  initiative  or  on  request  of  the  chairman. He shall verify the
  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the  fund,  and  shall  ascertain  the
  liability  of  the  fund  upon all cases in which awards of compensation
  have been made and charged against said fund and shall render  a  report
  of  such facts to the chairman. Such report shall also be open to public
  inspection in the office of the chairman.
    4. Upon notice to the representative of the fund, the board, if in its
  discretion it deems the interests  of  the  fund  will  be  best  served
  thereby,  may  compromise the amount for which judgment has been entered
  against an employer pursuant to this section and  the  judgment  entered
  may  be modified accordingly. Such compromise shall be effective without
  the necessity of obtaining the approval  of  any  other  state  official
  thereto,  but  shall  not reduce the amount of benefits payable to or on
  behalf of any claimant under this section.
    5. The chairman of the workmen's compensation board shall  appoint  an
  employee  of  the  board  who  is  an  attorney  at law duly admitted to
  practice in the state of New York to serve as the representative of  the
  fund  created  under  this section and shall assign to assist him in the
  discharge of his duties as such representative under the  provisions  of
  this  section,  such  other employees of the board as the chairman deems
  necessary for  this  purpose.  Such  representative  may  apply  to  the
  chairman  for  authority  to  hire such medical and other experts and to
  defray the expense thereof and of such witnesses as are necessary  to  a
  proper  defense  of  the claim within an amount in the discretion of the
  chairman and, if authorized, such amount shall be a charge against  said
  fund.  The  representative  of the fund may appear for and represent the
  interest of the fund in any case in court involving the  rights  of  the
  fund against another not in the same employ as the employee who received
  benefits  under this chapter and whose injury or death was caused by the
  negligence or wrong of such other.
    6. Whenever it appears, in a claim for benefits  under  this  chapter,
  that  the employer may have failed to secure the payment of compensation
  in accordance with section fifty of this  chapter,  the  fund  shall  be
  given  notice  of  all  proceedings  in  the  claim.  In such event, the
  provisions of this chapter with respect to procedure, the  right  to  be
  heard  and  the  right  to  apply to the board for review of a referee's
  decision and to appeal to the courts shall be reserved to the  claimant,
  to  the uninsured employer, and to the fund. Upon the application of the
  representative of the fund for a modification or rescission or review of
  an award, the board may review any award, decision or order and, on such
  review, may affirm, reverse, or modify any decision or award as the  law
  and  the  facts  may require, or take such other action as may be in the
  interest of justice. An appeal to the appellate division of the  supreme
  court, third department, or to the court of appeals shall not operate as
  a  stay  of the payments by the uninsured employer or by the fund of the
  compensation required by the terms of the award or of the payment of the
  doctor's bills found to be fair and  reasonable.  Where  such  award  is
  reduced  or  rescinded  upon appeal, the uninsured employer or the fund,
  whichever made payment, shall be entitled  to  reimbursement  in  a  sum
  equal  to  the  compensation  in  dispute  paid  by  such  party  to the
  respondent pending adjudication of the appeal, and,  if  the  claim  for
  workers' compensation is disallowed, to a sum equal to the amount of the
  doctor's  bills  paid  by such party pending adjudication of the appeal.
  Such  reimbursement  shall  be  paid  from  administration  expenses  as
  provided  in section one hundred fifty-one of this chapter upon vouchers
  approved  by  the chair. To the extent of any reimbursement to the fund,
  the uninsured employer shall be entitled to reimbursement from the  fund
  for  payments  made  into the fund in accordance with subdivision one of
  this section.
    7. All the rights, powers, and benefits of the employer under  section
  twenty-nine of this chapter shall become the rights, powers and benefits
  of  the  fund  in  any  case  in  which  the  fund has paid or is paying
  compensation to  an  injured  employee  or  his  dependents  under  this
  section.  If  the employer has also paid compensation to or on behalf of
  the injured employee or his dependents in such case any recovery by  the
  fund  pursuant  to subdivision one of section twenty-nine shall first be
  applied to repayment of any awards paid by the fund to or on  behalf  of
  the  injured  employee  or his dependents in such case, the balance then
  applied to any outstanding unsatisfied demand for security in said  case
  and  assessments imposed against the employer pursuant to the provisions
  of this section, the remainder, if any, to be returned to the  employer.
  If  the  employer  has  also  paid  compensation  to or on behalf of the
  injured employee or his dependents in such case, that portion,  if  any,
  of  a  recovery  by  the  fund  pursuant  to  subdivision two of section
  twenty-nine which is in excess  of  the  total  amount  of  compensation
  awarded  to  or on behalf of such injured employee or his dependents and
  the reasonable and necessary expenditures  incurred  in  effecting  such
  recovery  shall  be  apportioned  between  the  injured  employee or his
  dependents and the fund in the manner provided in said subdivision  two.
  The  balance  of  said  recovery shall first be applied to reimburse the
  fund for its reasonable and necessary  expenditures  in  effecting  such
  recovery  and  the  remainder shall be applied to repayment of any award
  paid by the fund to  or  on  behalf  of  the  injured  employee  or  his
  dependents in such case. If there still remains a balance it shall first
  be  applied  to the outstanding unsatisfied demand for security, if any,
  in said case and assessments,  if  any,  imposed  against  the  employer
  pursuant to the provisions of this section; the remainder, if any, to be
  returned to the employer.
    7-a.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision of section twenty-nine of
  this article to the contrary, a compromise by the claimant of his or her
  cause of action as  set  forth  in  said  section  twenty-nine  of  this
  article,  in  an  amount  less  than the sum paid to or on behalf of the
  claimant from the uninsured employers' fund, shall be made only with the
  written consent of the chair.
    8. The provisions of this section with respect to the liability of the
  uninsured employers' fund to pay  awards  against  uninsured  defaulting
  employers  shall  apply only to claims wherein the injury shall occur on
  or after the first  day  of  October,  nineteen  hundred  sixty-two,  or
  wherein  death  shall  occur  as the result of an injury sustained on or
  after the aforesaid first day of October.
    9. The chairman may make reasonable regulations for the processing and
  payment of compensation out of the uninsured employers' fund.
    10. The liability of the chairman, the commissioner  of  taxation  and
  finance,  the  fund and the state of New York with respect to payment of
  any compensation, benefits, expenses,  fees  or  disbursements  properly
  chargeable against the uninsured employers' fund shall be limited to the
  assets in said fund and they shall not otherwise in any way or manner be
  liable for the making of any such payment.
    11. All assessments payable pursuant to the provisions of this section
  shall  be  liens  against  the  assets  of  the employer liable therefor
  without limit of amount, subordinate,  however,  to  claims  for  unpaid
  wages and prior recorded liens.
    12.  Whenever  the  term  employer is used in this section it shall be
  deemed to include without limitation a contractor liable for the payment
  of  compensation  pursuant  to  section  fifty-six  of   the   workmen's
  compensation law.
    13.  Notwithstanding  any other provision of this chapter, in any case
  of injury or death to the president, secretary, treasurer or  any  other
  officer  charged  with the obligation of obtaining workers' compensation
  insurance, of a corporation,  any  awards  of  compensation  or  medical
  expenses  payable  to  or  on behalf of such officer or to his surviving
  spouse, children and dependents as defined by section  sixteen  of  this
  article  made  against  the  corporation as an uninsured employer solely
  because of the injury or death of such officer, shall in no event be the
  liability of the uninsured employers' fund  and  shall  not  be  payable
  therefrom.
    14.  Notwithstanding  any other provision of this chapter, in any case
  of injury or death to a self-employed  person  or  to  a  partner  of  a
  partnership as defined in section ten of the partnership law, any awards
  of  compensation  or  medical  expenses  payable to or on behalf of such
  self-employed person or partner of a partnership  or  to  his  surviving
  spouse,  children  and  dependents as defined by section sixteen of this
  article made against the  self-employed  person  or  partnership  as  an
  uninsured  employer  solely  because  of  the  injury  or  death of such
  self-employed person or partner, shall in no event be the  liability  of
  the uninsured employers' fund and shall not be payable therefrom.