S 8441: Authorizes certain injured employees or their legal representative to claim workers' compensation or to maintain an action in the courts for damages on account of such injury when the commissioner of labor fails to act within a certain time frame for certain violations.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8441 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE June 12, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. RAMOS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to protecting the right of action for workers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 11 of the workers' compensation 2 law, as amended by chapter 835 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read 3 as follows: 4 1. The liability of an employer prescribed by the last preceding 5 section shall be exclusive and in place of any other liability whatsoev- 6 er, to such employee, [his or her] such employee's personal represen- 7 tatives, spouse, parents, dependents, distributees, or any person other- 8 wise entitled to recover damages, contribution or indemnity, at common 9 law or otherwise, on account of such injury or death or liability aris- 10 ing therefrom, except that if an employer fails to secure the payment of 11 compensation for [his or her] such employer's injured employees and 12 their dependents as provided in section fifty of this chapter, an 13 injured employee, or [his or her] such employee's legal representative 14 in case of death results from the injury, may, at [his or her] such 15 employee's option, elect to claim compensation under this chapter, or to 16 maintain an action in the courts for damages on account of such injury; 17 provided, further, that if an injury or death or liability arises after 18 the commissioner of labor fails to act within one hundred twenty days 19 on a complaint filed pursuant to subdivision five of section twenty-sev- 20 en-a of the labor law or paragraph b of subdivision six of section twen- 21 ty-seven-b of the labor law against a public employer as defined by 22 subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subdivision six of section two 23 hundred one of the civil service law, an injured employee, or such 24 employee's legal representative in case of death resulting from the 25 injury, may, at such employee's option, elect to claim compensation EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13378-01-5 
 S. 8441 2 1 under this chapter, or to maintain an action in the courts for damages 2 on account of such injury; and, provided, further, that if an injury or 3 death or liability arises after the commissioner of labor fails to act 4 within ninety days on a complaint filed pursuant to subdivision five-a 5 of section twenty-seven-a of the labor law or paragraph h of subdivision 6 six of section twenty-seven-b of the labor law against a public employer 7 as defined by subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of subdivision six of 8 section two hundred one of the civil service law, an injured employee, 9 or such employee's legal representative in case of death resulting from 10 the injury, may, at such employee's option, elect to claim compensation 11 under this chapter, or to maintain an action in the courts for damages 12 on account of such injury; provided, further, that if an injury or death 13 or liability arises after an employer as defined by subparagraph (i) of 14 paragraph (a) of subdivision six of section two hundred one of the civil 15 service law fails to remediate the violations identified pursuant to 16 subdivision six of section twenty-seven-a of the labor law within sixty 17 days, an injured employee, or such employee's legal representative in 18 case of death resulting from the injury, may, at such employee's option, 19 elect to claim compensation under this chapter, or to maintain an action 20 in the courts for damages on account of such injury and in such an 21 action it shall not be necessary to plead or prove freedom from contrib- 22 utory negligence nor may the defendant plead as a defense that the inju- 23 ry was caused by the negligence of a fellow servant nor that the employ- 24 ee assumed the risk of [his or her] such employee's employment, nor that 25 the injury was due to the contributory negligence of the employee. The 26 liability under this chapter of The New York Jockey Injury Compensation 27 Fund, Inc. created under section two hundred twenty-one of the racing, 28 pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law shall be limited to the provision 29 of workers' compensation coverage to jockeys, apprentice jockeys, exer- 30 cise persons, and at the election of the New York Jockey Injury Compen- 31 sation Fund, Inc., with the approval of the New York state gaming 32 commission, employees of licensed trainers or owners licensed under 33 article two or four of the racing, pari-mutuel wagering and breeding law 34 and any statutory penalties resulting from the failure to provide such 35 coverage. 36 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 37 have become a law.