2021 New York Laws
WKC - Workers' Compensation
Article 2 - Compensation
18-C - Independent Livery Bases.

§  18-c.  Independent  livery  bases. 1. For purposes of this section,
"covered services,"  "livery,"  "livery  driver,"  "livery  registrant,"
"livery  base,"  "local  taxi and limousine commission" and "responsible
person" shall have the meanings  set  forth  in  article  six-G  of  the
executive law.
  2.  The  board  shall designate a livery base as an independent livery
base, only if the base meets each of the following criteria:
  (a) The base submits an affirmation sworn under penalty of perjury  by
an  officer  or  director  and  such  other individuals as the chair may
direct, on such form as is provided by the board, which attests  to  the
truth  of such criteria as are set by the chair by regulation, or in the
absence of such regulation attests to the truth of  the  following:  (i)
the  base is not, directly or indirectly, including through any director
or officer, the owner or registrant of  any  livery  dispatched  by  the
base;  (ii) all livery drivers dispatched by the base provide and select
their own clothing; (iii) all livery drivers dispatched by the base  set
their  own  hours and days of work; (iv) all livery drivers choose which
dispatches or  fares  to  accept,  and  no  livery  driver  suffers  any
consequence  by  the livery base for failing to respond to its dispatch;
(v) livery drivers dispatched by the base may enter into  a  contractual
relationship  with  one  or  more  other  bases;  (vi)  no livery driver
dispatched by the base receives an internal  revenue  service  form  W-2
from  such  base, or is subject to the withholding of any federal income
taxes by the base;  (vii)  the  base  does  not  pay  for  the  fuel  or
maintenance  of  any liveries; (viii) the base does not impose any fines
and penalties on any livery drivers,  except  that  it  may  decline  to
provide  further dispatches for misconduct during any dispatch; and (ix)
no livery driver is subject to being fired or discharged by  the  livery
base. The base shall agree to provide the board with immediate notice of
any  inaccuracies in the affirmation, including any failure to adhere to
any of the matters set forth on its affirmation.
  (b) The board shall alter the criteria set forth in paragraph  (a)  of
this  subdivision to conform to any statutory definition for employer or
independent contractor applicable to livery drivers.
  (c) The livery shall provide the board and local  taxi  and  limousine
commission,  and all livery registrants or drivers whose liveries may be
dispatched by the livery base, with a copy of a written policy in  plain
language,  in  the primary language spoken by each registrant or driver,
setting forth all matters to which it has attested  on  the  affirmation
provided  for  in  paragraph  (a)  of  this  subdivision. The failure to
distribute such a policy shall not have any legal consequence except  in
accordance with section one hundred sixty-hhh of the executive law.
  (d)  The base shall pay into the independent livery fund such payments
as are directed by the independent livery driver benefit  fund  pursuant
to article six-G of the executive law.
  (e)  The base may not owe any payments into the fund established under
section twenty-six-a of this article, or otherwise owe any moneys  under
this  chapter,  unless  it  has an agreement with the board to repay the
money owed, or to  relieve  it  of  the  obligation  to  make  any  such
payments.
  (f)  The  base  shall  maintain  such  records  as are provided for by
regulation of the chair.
  (g) The base shall permit the local taxi and limousine commission, the
independent livery fund and any  carrier  providing  compensation  under
this  title  for  the  independent  livery  fund  to audit its books and
records during regular business hours solely as necessary  to  determine
compliance  with  this  section,  or to determine the amount owed to the
fund.
  (h) No responsible  persons  of  the  livery  base  may  have  been  a
responsible  person of a base whose status as an independent livery base
was revoked within the previous five years, or which has no agreement on
moneys owed in as required by paragraph (e) of this subdivision,  unless
such criteria are waived in the discretion of the board.
  3.  The  board  may  revoke any livery base's status as an independent
livery base if it determines that the base is in violation of any of the
criteria set forth in subdivision one of this section,  or  may  suspend
the  livery  base's  status  as  an  independent livery base pending the
base's compliance with any such criteria.
  4.  An  independent  livery  base's  obligations  under  this  chapter
regarding  the  securing and provision of workers' compensation benefits
for any livery driver it  dispatches  shall  be  satisfied  in  full  by
compliance with the requirements imposed upon an independent livery base
by  this  section  and  article  six-G  of  the executive law. Insurance
coverage directly procured  by  any  independent  livery  base  for  the
purpose  of  satisfying the requirements of this chapter with respect to
employees of the central livery  dispatch  facility  shall  not  include
coverage  of  any  livery driver to the extent that the livery driver is
covered under coverage secured by the New York  livery  drivers'  injury
compensation  fund  pursuant to the requirements of article six-G of the
executive law except as provided in that article.
  5. Any livery base that is not an independent  livery  base  shall  be
deemed  an  employer  of any livery driver it dispatches for purposes of
this article.
  6. A livery base's designation as an employer  or  independent  livery
base  in  accordance  with  this  section shall not be considered in any
determination as to whether a livery base is an employer or  independent
contractor   under  any  other  provision  of  law.  The  livery  base's
designation under this section shall not be admissible in any  court  or
administrative  proceeding  in  this  state, except any proceeding under
this article or article six-G of the executive law, to  demonstrate  the
base's status as an employer or independent contractor.
  7.  For all injuries or illnesses resulting to a livery driver arising
out of covered services for an independent livery base,  and  for  which
compensation  must  be  paid  in  accordance  with  section  one hundred
sixty-ddd of the executive law, the independent  livery  driver  benefit
fund shall be deemed the employer for all purposes of this chapter.
  8.  An  independent  livery driver that sustains injury as a result of
the  use  or  operation  of  an  automobile  during  a  dispatch  by  an
independent  livery  base may obtain recovery in accordance with article
fifty-one of the insurance law, and shall not be  entitled  to  workers'
compensation  benefits  except  as  set  forth  in  section  one hundred
sixty-ddd of the executive law.
  9. An independent livery driver who submits a claim  for  recovery  in
accordance  with  article  fifty-one  of  the  insurance law pursuant to
subdivision eight of this section shall be subject  to  local  taxi  and
limousine  commission  rules  prohibiting  driving  until  he or she has
recovered from his or her injury. Any  authorized  insurer  required  to
accept  such  claims  shall  be  entitled  to  apply  the pre-authorized
procedures, medical treatment guidelines and other applicable provisions
of this article.