A 5003: Prohibits cases from being closed without a hearing or written stipulation; requires a stenographic record of all hearings held; requires minutes and decisions to be provided to the injured worker in their native language.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5003 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY February 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON, GLICK, SHIMSKY, TAPIA, STECK, DAVILA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to prohibit- ing cases from being closed without a hearing or written stipulation and requiring a stenographic record of all hearings held; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2-b of section 25 of the workers' compensation 2 law is REPEALED and subdivision 2-c is renumbered subdivision 2-b. 3 § 2. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 3 of section 25 of the 4 workers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 61 of the laws of 1986, 5 are amended to read as follows: 6 (b) Nothing herein shall limit the right of the board in a particular 7 case to hold a hearing and make an award in accordance with other 8 provisions of this chapter. No case shall be closed and no decision 9 shall be issued without a hearing upon notice to all parties interested 10 and without giving to all such parties an opportunity to be heard. 11 (c) The board shall keep an accurate stenographic record of all hear- 12 ings held and provide the minutes, at no cost, to the injured worker and 13 their representative in the native language of the injured worker. All 14 decisions shall be issued to the injured worker in their native 15 language. Whenever a hearing must be continued or adjourned because the 16 carrier or employer has engaged in dilatory tactics or exhibited unjus- 17 tified lack of preparedness, the board shall impose a penalty of twen- 18 ty-five dollars to be paid to the fund created by subdivision two of 19 section one hundred fifty-one of this chapter and shall in addition make 20 an award of seventy-five dollars payable to the injured worker or [his 21 or her] such worker's dependants. Dilatory tactics may include but shall 22 not be limited to: failing to subpoena medical witnesses or to secure 23 an order to show cause as directed by the referee, failing to bring EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06525-01-5 
 A. 5003 2 1 proper files, failing to appear, failing to produce witnesses or docu- 2 ments after they have been requested by the referee or examiner or as 3 directed by the hearing notice, unnecessarily protracting the production 4 of evidence, or engaging in a pattern of delay which unduly delays 5 resolution, except that no penalty shall be imposed nor award made under 6 this subdivision if the carrier or employer produces evidence sufficient 7 to excuse its conduct to the satisfaction of the referee. 8 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.