Board hears overview of language access as Janet Drainer reports interpreter demand

Chair Freda Foster convened the board and introduced a guest presentation by Janet Drainer, who leads the board's office of internal control and serves as interim language access coordinator. Drainer said language access gives claimants "interpretation or translation in someone's preferred language," including phone, video, in-person interpretation and ASL, and noted it is required by law for executive agencies that provide direct public services.

Drainer described the scale of need: "New Yorkers speak more than 800 languages," and reported that for the most recent month shown on the board's dashboard there were 21,362 hearings, 4,222 of which required an interpreter. "That's consistent across all 24 months of an average of about 20% of our hearings require interpretation," she said. She said the board provides translated vital documents, captioning and other services to make the workers compensation system accessible at no cost to users.

Drainer framed language access as both a legal obligation and an operational priority tied to the board's mission to protect employee rights and ensure delivery of benefits. "We help by providing services related to language access that will eliminate the barriers that many individuals would face in trying to navigate the workers compensation system without it," she said. The presentation closed with Drainer inviting questions and offering follow-up contact for board members.