2022 New York Laws
WKC - Workers' Compensation
Article 2 - Compensation
17-A - Limited English Proficiency.
§ 17-a. Limited English proficiency. 1. The board shall provide translation of (a) all documents and forms published by the board that injured employees complete; and (b) all board documents that provide general information to injured employees on the process of applying for workers' compensation benefits. The translation shall be in the ten most common non-English languages spoken by individuals with limited-English proficiency in the state of New York. 2. The board shall provide interpretation services to injured employees with respect to its provision of services, information and/or benefits. 3. The board shall publish a language access plan that reflects:(a) the means by which it provides language assistance services;
(b) the titles of all available translated documents and the languages into which they have been translated;
(c) the number of public contact positions at the board and the number of bilingual employees in public contact positions, including the languages they speak;
(d) a training plan for board employees which includes, at minimum, annual training on its language access policies and how to provide language assistance services;
(e) a plan for annual internal monitoring of the board's language access plan;
(f) a plan of how the board intends to notify injured employees of offered language assistant services; and
(g) the appointment of a language access coordinator at the board, who shall be publicly identified. 4. The language access coordinator for the board shall monitor the board's compliance with this section by annually collecting data on the provision of language assistance services, the availability of translated materials, whether signage is properly posted, and any other relevant measures.