2013 New York Consolidated Laws
WKC - Workers' Compensation
Article 7 - (110 - 137) Miscellaneous Provisions.
134 - Workplace safety and loss prevention program; certification of safety and loss management specialists.

 
    §  134. Workplace safety and loss prevention program; certification of
  safety and loss management specialists. 1. The commissioner of labor, in
  consultation with the superintendent of financial services and the chair
  of the board shall  develop  a  compulsory  workplace  safety  and  loss
  prevention program for all employers whose most recent annual payroll is
  in  excess  of  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars  and whose most recent
  experience rating exceeds the level of 1.2. The  commissioner  of  labor
  shall promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of safety,
  drug and alcohol prevention, and return to work incentive programs.
    2.  The  commissioner  of  labor shall provide written notification to
  employers whose most recent annual payroll is in excess of eight hundred
  thousand dollars and whose most recent  experience  rating  exceeds  the
  level  of  1.2  that they are required to undergo a workplace safety and
  loss prevention consultation  and  written  evaluation.  Copies  of  the
  written  notification  shall  be provided to the department of labor and
  the employer's insurer. The employer must arrange for  the  consultation
  and  evaluation  within thirty days after receiving the notification and
  must within ten days thereafter notify its insurer and the department of
  labor in writing  of  the  means  by  which  the  evaluation  is  to  be
  accomplished.  The  employer must provide its insurer and the department
  of labor with  a  copy  of  the  evaluation  within  thirty  days  after
  receiving  it  from  the safety and loss consultant. Any remedial action
  recommended in the evaluation must be implemented by the employer within
  a reasonable period of time, but not to  exceed  six  months  after  the
  employer  receives  the evaluation. The insurer, within sixty days after
  the expiration of such six month period, shall conduct an inspection  to
  ascertain  whether the recommended remedial action has been implemented,
  and the insurer shall within forty-five days thereafter provide  to  the
  employer and the department of labor a copy of its inspection report.
    3.  If the employer does not arrange for a consultation and evaluation
  or fails to implement  recommended  remedial  action  within  the  times
  prescribed,  the  insurer  shall  surcharge  the  employer's manual rate
  premium by .05 for the next  ensuing  policy  period,  and  so  long  as
  non-compliance  continues there shall be an additional .05 surcharge for
  each year thereafter of non-compliance. An  employer  may  challenge  an
  insurer's  determination that the employer has not taken the recommended
  remedial action by appeal to the department of labor on  notice  to  the
  insurer. The department of labor shall thereafter conduct an independent
  inspection  and  its determination of compliance or non-compliance shall
  be final. However, such appeal may not be entertained  if  the  employer
  has not paid its billed premium including any surcharge thereof.
    4.  Employers required to participate in the workplace safety and loss
  prevention program established by this section  shall  be  permitted  to
  utilize  the  services  of  either the department of labor, or a private
  safety and loss consultant which has been certified by the department of
  labor and has paid the appropriate certification fee prescribed by rules
  and regulations promulgated under this section. Private safety and  loss
  consultants  may  charge  employers  a fee for their services, and where
  employers elect to have the  services  provided  by  the  department  of
  labor, they shall pay for such services in accordance with fee schedules
  established by the department of labor's rules and regulations.
    5.  Fees charged by the department of labor to employers for workplace
  safety and  loss  prevention  consultations  and  evaluations  and  fees
  charged  to  private safety and loss consultants for certification shall
  be paid to the commissioner of taxation and finance and the  comptroller
  and  deposited  in  the department of labor accounts designated for such
  purposes. The fees deposited in those designated accounts shall be  used
  to cover administrative expenses of this program.

    6.  Safety,  drug and alcohol prevention, and return to work incentive
  programs. Employers insured through the  state  insurance  fund  (except
  those who are current policyholders in a recognized safety group) or any
  other  insurer  that issues policies of workers' compensation insurance,
  shall  be  eligible  for  a  credit  in  workers' compensation insurance
  premiums if they:
    a. pay annual workers' compensation insurance  premiums  of  at  least
  five thousand dollars; and
    b.  maintain an experience rating of under 1.30 for the year preceding
  and the years in which the credit has been applied for provided that  no
  insured  required  to implement a safety program pursuant to subdivision
  one of this section shall be eligible for a premium  credit  under  this
  subdivision; and
    c. implement any of the following:
    (1) a safety incentive plan, that has been recommended by a safety and
  loss  management  specialist after such specialist has been certified by
  the commissioner of  labor,  or  if  such  plan  otherwise  conforms  to
  regulations promulgated by the commissioner of labor;
    (2) a drug and alcohol prevention program that conforms to regulations
  issued  by the commissioner of labor, in consultation with the office of
  alcoholism and substance abuse services; and
    (3) a return to work program that conforms to  regulations  issued  by
  the commissioner of labor.
    The  credit  for each such program shall be established by regulations
  issued by the superintendent of  financial  services.  Such  regulations
  shall include provisions for recertification on an annual basis.
    7.  An  individual  self-insured  employer  shall  be  eligible  for a
  reduction in the security deposit provided for in subdivision  three  of
  section fifty of this chapter, and a member of a group shall be eligible
  for  a credit against their contributors if such credit is authorized by
  the chair and in accordance with limitations set by the chair,  if  such
  employer  has  implemented  any  or  all  of  the following: a. a safety
  incentive plan that has been recommended by a safety and loss management
  specialist after such specialist has been certified by the  commissioner
  of  labor  or if such plan otherwise conforms to regulations promulgated
  by the commissioner of labor;
    b. a drug and alcohol prevention program that conforms to  regulations
  issued  by the commissioner of labor, in consultation with the office of
  alcoholism and substance abuse services; and
    c. a return to work program that conforms to regulations issued by the
  commissioner of labor.
    The credit for each program shall be no greater  than  established  by
  regulations  issued  by the superintendent of financial services or such
  lesser amount as determined by the chair of the board to be necessary to
  assure that the deposit remains  sufficient  to  secure  the  employer's
  liability  to  pay the compensation provided in this chapter. The chair,
  in consultation with the superintendent  of  financial  services,  shall
  adopt regulations which provide for recertification on an annual basis.
    8.   The   commissioner   of  labor  shall:  (i)  receive  and  review
  applications from  applicants  for  certification  as  safety  and  loss
  management  specialists;  and  (ii)  certify  persons as safety and loss
  management specialists; and (iii) revoke  certification  of  safety  and
  loss management specialists for just cause.
    9.  The commissioner of labor shall monitor all safety incentive plans
  implemented by employers. As part  of  this  responsibility,  the  board
  shall   insure   that  employee  representatives  are  involved  in  the
  development of such plans through  meetings  and  discussions  with  the
  respective certified safety and loss management specialist.

    10. The commissioner of labor, in consultation with the superintendent
  of  financial  services,  shall promulgate rules and regulations for the
  certification of safety and loss management specialists. Such rules  and
  regulations   shall   include   provisions   that  outline  the  minimum
  qualifications  for  safety  and loss management specialists, procedures
  for certification, causes for revocation or suspension of  certification
  and   appropriate   administrative   and   judicial  review  procedures,
  violations and penalties for misuse of certification by certified safety
  and  loss  management  specialists,  and  fees   for   certificate   and
  certificate renewal.