Lawmakers debate how to fund anti-fraud efforts and workers' compensation reforms

Discussion at the subcommittee concentrated on how best to detect and deter workers' compensation fraud and how to pay for enforcement.

Assembly Member Brant urged a statewide anti-fraud program financed through workers' compensation assessments, saying assessments and employer costs have declined in recent years and recommending a $10,000,000 restoration for an occupational clinic/health network paid from assessments. "Using an assessment to fund an anti-fraud system is where we should go," Brant said.

Senator Steve Rhodes, the ranking Senate labor committee member, supported combatting workers' compensation fraud but opposed placing new assessment costs on employers. Rhodes suggested insurers, which have posted record profits, should bear a greater share of enforcement costs. "Every cost that we add to our employer is a missed opportunity," Rhodes said, arguing that added employer costs could reduce job creation.

Senator Jessica Ramos described additions intended to aid injured workers, including $57,000,000 to ensure initial hearings occur within 60 days of claim filing. Ramos also outlined a proposal to create a New York State worker protection and labor enforcement fund that would redirect recovered monetary damages and penalties to the Department of Labor to support in-house investigations of wage theft and labor-law violations.

Speakers also debated the role of provider qualifications in the workers' compensation system. Rhodes cautioned against expanding the pool to noncoded doctors without addressing timeliness of payments and claims processing, saying payment delays are the primary deterrent for provider participation.

No formal motions or votes were recorded in the hearing; members expressed differing funding preferences as negotiations continue.