Workers' comp deadlines in New York: tell your employer and file

Tell your employer in New York

Time limit

30 days

Counted from

The date of the accident

In writing?

Yes, in writing

If you are late

If you do not give notice within 30 days, you may lose your right to benefits. The Board can excuse late notice if notice could not have been given for a good reason, if your employer or your supervisor knew about the accident, or if your employer was not harmed by the delay. The employer must raise the late notice at the first hearing, or the objection is waived.

Illness that develops over time

For an occupational disease, report it to your employer as soon as you know or should know that it was caused by your work, and file Form C-3 with the Board within 2 years after you became disabled or 2 years after you knew or should have known the disease was caused by your job.

Tell your employer in writing as soon as possible, and no later than 30 days after the accident. Say when, where and how you were hurt or became ill. Do not send a text message; use a letter, email or another document that can be saved or printed. The law says written notice may be delivered to the employer or sent by registered mail.

Law: N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law § 18

Source: wcb.ny.gov

File your claim in New York

Time limit

2 years

Counted from

The date of the accident (or of death, for a death claim); for an occupational disease, the date you became disabled or the date you knew or should have known the disease was caused by your work, whichever is later

What to file

Employee Claim, filed with the Workers' Compensation Board online at wcb.ny.gov, by email, by mail to the Board's centralized mailing address, or in person at a Board office

Claim form

Employee Claim

Who files it

You give your employer written notice of the injury, and you file the Employee Claim yourself with the Workers' Compensation Board (online, by email, by mail or at a Board office). If you hurt the same body part before or had a similar illness, also file Form C-3.3 (Limited Release of Health Information). Your doctor files medical reports with the Board and the insurer; a medical report is needed for you to get benefits.

What your employer must do

Your employer must report the injury to its workers' compensation insurer within 10 days if you need medical treatment beyond first aid or lose at least one day of work besides the day of the injury. The insurer must send you a written Statement of Rights within 14 days after the employer reports the injury, or with the first check if that is sooner. Employers must post notice of their coverage at the workplace.

Source: Form C-430S

When the insurer decides

If lost time is more than 7 days, the insurer must start paying, or file a notice of controversy with the Board and tell you why it is not paying, within 18 days after the disability began or within 10 days after it learned of the injury, whichever is later. If it does neither, the Board can fine it. If you have filed a claim with medical evidence, cannot work, and are not being paid, you can ask for a hearing, which must be held within 45 days of the Board getting your request.

Illness that develops over time

For an occupational disease, file Form C-3 within 2 years from the date you became disabled, or within 2 years after you knew or should have known that the disease was caused by your work. For hearing loss from workplace noise, special timing rules apply: the date of disability is 3 months after you were removed from the harmful noise or 3 months after you left that job, and you can file after 2 years if you file within 90 days of learning that the hearing loss is work-related.

You must file an Employee Claim with the Workers' Compensation Board within 2 years after the accident. File it as soon as possible. If the insurer has already made a payment to you, the 2-year limit does not bar your claim. If the employer or insurer does not object to a late claim at the first hearing, the objection is waived.

Source: Form C-3

Law: N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law § 28

Source: wcb.ny.gov

Law: N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law §§ 18, 25(1)(c), 25(2)(a)

Source: wcb.ny.gov

Waiting period and first payment in New York

Waiting period

Lost wage benefits are not paid for the first 7 days of disability (calendar days). Medical care is covered from the start. If you are disabled for more than 14 days, the first 7 days are paid too.

Paid back for the waiting days

If your disability lasts more than 14 days, you are paid from the first day of disability.

First payment

The first payment is due on the 14th day of disability and must be paid within 4 days after that, unless the insurer disputes the claim. After that, you are paid every 2 weeks. If an installment is paid more than 25 days late, the insurer must add 20% of the amount due, plus a $300 payment to you, unless the Board excuses the delay.

How often you are paid

Every two weeks

Law: N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law §§ 12, 25(1)(b), 25(1)(e)

Source: wcb.ny.gov

Deadline if you are punished for filing

Within 2 years of when the discrimination happened.

Law: N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law § 120

Deadline helper

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