The New York State Workers' Compensation Board announced a reduction in the annual workers' compensation assessment rate for 2024, according to a Business Insurance article about the approved change.
Clarissa Rodriguez, chairperson of New York's workers' compensation board, told Business Insurance that the new assessment rate will help create a "workers comp system that's better for workers and better for business."
What is the workers' compensation assessment rate?
By law, most employers in New York are required to have workers' compensation insurance. This form of insurance provides financial compensation to employees who develop a work-related illness or suffer a work-related injury.
To pay for such benefits, employers must pay for workers' compensation insurance. In addition, employers must "pay an annual assessment to operate the workers' comp system," as explained in a recent news article.
New York workers' compensation assessment rate lowered
Each year on November 1, the New York Workers' Compensation Board sets the assessment rate for the following year. The board calculates the assessment rate by dividing the Board's total estimated annual expenses by a base of the total estimated statewide premium. This past November, the Board voted to lower New York's workers' compensation assessment rate for 2024 by 6 percent.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul praised the decision by the Board. "As New York employers continue to grapple with rising costs and inflation, this assessment rate decrease will translate to meaningful savings for small businesses and keep hard-earned money in New Yorkers' pockets," Hochul said in a press release.
What does this mean for injured workers in New York?
While New York employers enjoy a lower workers' compensation assessment rate, this doesn't translate to reduced benefits for sick or injured workers. In fact, the maximum weekly benefit that sick or injured workers can receive in workers' compensation has seen an increase in 2024.
New York's maximum weekly workers' compensation benefit is $1,145.43 per week, which is 1.7 percent higher this fiscal year (which runs through June 30, 2024) compared to last fiscal year, according to the New York workers' compensation schedule of maximum weekly benefits. The maximum weekly benefit is adjusted every year on July 1.
The specific amount of workers' compensation benefits awarded to individual workers in New York can vary. In general, these benefits are calculated based on the worker's pre-injury or illness weekly earnings.
New York's law firm for injured workers
Workers' compensation claims in New York can be very complicated. And if you make a mistake at any point, you might not receive the maximum workers' compensation benefits you deserve. This is very important since the financial impact of a work-related injury or illness can add up fast.
Our New York workers' compensation attorneys at Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP know what's at stake. That's why we want to help. For more than 90 years, our dedicated legal team has been successfully helping injured workers get the benefits they rightfully deserve.
Put your trust in a law firm that knows how to win big for injured New Yorkers. Contact us and schedule an appointment with a New York workers' compensation lawyer who will give your case the attention it deserves.