A 4812: Enacts the "COVID-19 injured workers' protection act"; establishes a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presumption for public employee death benefits where a member was required to physically report to work; did in fact physically report to work as of March first, two thousand twenty; contracted COVID-19; and where the applicable head of the member's retirement system or such system's medical board determines COVID-19 to have been a significant contributing factor in the member's death.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4812 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY February 6, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. O'PHARROW -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to the treat- ment by a medical provider for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "COVID-19 injured workers' protection act." 3 § 2. Section 13-a of the workers' compensation law is amended by 4 adding a new subdivision 8 to read as follows: 5 (8) (a) It shall be presumed that treatment rendered by a medical 6 provider for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 was done so on an emergent 7 basis so as not to require prior authorization pursuant to subdivision 8 five of this section. 9 (b) Medical providers treating patients for the novel coronavirus, 10 COVID-19 need not be authorized by the chair pursuant to subdivision one 11 of this section. 12 § 3. Section 21-a of the workers' compensation law, as added by chap- 13 ter 635 of the laws of 1996, subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 as amended by chap- 14 ter 6 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows: 15 § 21-a. Temporary payment of compensation. 1. Notwithstanding any 16 other provision of this chapter to the contrary, in any instance in 17 which an employer is unsure of the extent of its liability for a claim 18 for compensation by an injured employee pursuant to this chapter, such 19 employer may initiate compensation payments and payments for prescribed 20 medicine and continue such payments for [one year] sixty days, without 21 prejudice and without admitting liability, in accordance with a notice 22 of temporary payment of compensation at the temporary total disability 23 rate, on a form prescribed by the board. 24 2. The notice of temporary payment of compensation authorized by 25 subdivision one of this section shall be delivered to the injured EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08807-01-5 
 A. 4812 2 1 employee and the board. Such notice shall notify the injured employee 2 that the temporary payment of compensation and prescribed medicine shall 3 not be deemed to be an admission of liability by the employer for the 4 injury or injuries to the employee. The board, upon receipt of a notice 5 of temporary payment of compensation, shall send a notice to the injured 6 employee in sixteen point type stating that: 7 (a) the board has received a notice of temporary payment of compen- 8 sation relating to such injured employee; 9 (b) the payment of temporary compensation and prescribed medicine and 10 the injured employee's acceptance of such temporary compensation and 11 prescribed medicine shall not be an admission of liability by the 12 employer, nor prejudice the claim of the injured employee; and 13 (c) the payment of temporary compensation and prescribed medicine 14 shall terminate on the elapse of: [one year] sixty days, or the employ- 15 er's contesting of the injured employee's claim for compensation and 16 prescribed medicine, or the board determination of the injured employ- 17 ee's claim, whichever is first[; and 18 (d) the injured employee may be required to enter into an agreement 19 with the employer to ensure the continuation of payments of temporary 20 compensation and prescribed medicine]. 21 3. An employer may cease making temporary payments of compensation and 22 prescribed medicine if such employer delivers within five days after the 23 last payment, to the injured employee and the board, a notice of termi- 24 nation of temporary payments of compensation on a form prescribed by the 25 board. Such notice shall inform the injured employee that the employer 26 is ceasing temporary payment of compensation and prescribed medicine. 27 Upon the cessation of temporary payments of compensation and prescribed 28 medicine, [all] the board shall immediately schedule a hearing to adju- 29 dicate the claim. All parties to any action pursuant to this chapter 30 shall retain all rights, defenses and obligations they would otherwise 31 have pursuant to this chapter without regard for the temporary payment 32 of compensation and prescribed medicine. 33 4. The failure of an employer to provide the notice of termination, 34 pursuant to subdivision three of this section, within [one year] sixty 35 days of the commencement of temporary payment of compensation shall be 36 deemed to be an admission of liability by the employer and the notice of 37 temporary payment of compensation shall be converted to a notice of 38 compensation payable. 39 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.