To: the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board
Injured workers in New York say #NoCutstoComp this Holiday Season
The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board withdrew its harmful cuts to injured workers and issued a revised proposal November 22nd. While it is a significant improvement and victory, it also includes potential cuts on knee, hip, and shoulder replacements. We are asking the Board to consider eliminating any and all cuts to injured workers in this current proposal.
Why is this important?
New York State Workers’ Compensation Board:
Thank you for listening to the tens of thousands of petitions, letters, calls, and comments, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board and withdrawing the harmful proposal to cuts on workers’ compensation. This November 22nd, 2017 set of proposed guidelines eliminates the prior proposals around company-assigned doctors; the list of injuries that would no longer be covered; and the 97% benefit cuts for some injuries. The new set of proposed guidelines does what democracy should and meaningfully responds to the widespread opposition to benefit cuts from injured workers, elected officials, labor unions, community organizations, and attorneys and eliminated their widespread cuts to the system.
Despite the significant improvements to the previous proposal, we continue to have concerns around some reductions that should be eliminated from your proposals. The recent proposal, despite its many improvements, also includes potential cuts on knee, hip, and shoulder replacements. While these cuts are not drastic in number, they are significant for every injured worker who has the misfortune of being injured on the job with these injuries that have been reduced by up to 25 percent. We urge the Board to consider eliminating any and all cuts to injured workers in this current proposal; any cut, regardless of how slight, should never be a consideration.
Thank you again for listening to our comments, and thank you in particular to Chair Clarissa Rodriguez for your hard work in creating a proposal that works for New Yorkers. We will continue to advocate for a workers’ compensation system that works for all injured workers, including low-wage workers and immigrant workers with limited English capacity. We hope you will join us as we work to create a better system for all New Yorkers.
Thank you for listening to the tens of thousands of petitions, letters, calls, and comments, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board and withdrawing the harmful proposal to cuts on workers’ compensation. This November 22nd, 2017 set of proposed guidelines eliminates the prior proposals around company-assigned doctors; the list of injuries that would no longer be covered; and the 97% benefit cuts for some injuries. The new set of proposed guidelines does what democracy should and meaningfully responds to the widespread opposition to benefit cuts from injured workers, elected officials, labor unions, community organizations, and attorneys and eliminated their widespread cuts to the system.
Despite the significant improvements to the previous proposal, we continue to have concerns around some reductions that should be eliminated from your proposals. The recent proposal, despite its many improvements, also includes potential cuts on knee, hip, and shoulder replacements. While these cuts are not drastic in number, they are significant for every injured worker who has the misfortune of being injured on the job with these injuries that have been reduced by up to 25 percent. We urge the Board to consider eliminating any and all cuts to injured workers in this current proposal; any cut, regardless of how slight, should never be a consideration.
Thank you again for listening to our comments, and thank you in particular to Chair Clarissa Rodriguez for your hard work in creating a proposal that works for New Yorkers. We will continue to advocate for a workers’ compensation system that works for all injured workers, including low-wage workers and immigrant workers with limited English capacity. We hope you will join us as we work to create a better system for all New Yorkers.