Key Takeaways:

• Kathy Hochul has signed a bill expanding the statutory carveout applied to police officers, firefighters, and EMTs who filed a claim for mental injury due to extraordinary work-related stress

• S.6635/A.5745 now allows all workers to apply for Workers’ Compensation for extraordinary work-related stress

• The law takes effect January 1

Under S.6635/A.5745:

Where a [worker] files a claim for mental injury premised upon extraordinary work-related stress incurred at [work], the board may not disallow the claim upon a factual finding that the stress was not greater than that which usually occurs in the normal work environment.

A major part of this law is that now all employees in New York can apply for workers’ compensation if they feel they are undergoing a mental health crisis caused by their job. In the past, this option was only available for select first responder positions.

Unlike other accidental injuries, there are two requirements in a claimant’s case that are unique to stress claims. In addition to all ordinary requirements the claimant has to meet, the claimant will also be required to show the stress to which he or she was subjected to at work was “greater than the usual irritations to which all workers are occasionally subjected,” and the claimant may also need to show that the disability was not the direct consequence of a lawful personnel decision taken in good faith. In 2017, legislation was enacted to remove the restriction that the stress suffered by designated first responders no longer needs to be greater than the normal stress sustained by similar workers.

Given the expansion of the previous statutory carveout for first-responder positions and the reduction in the restriction for compensability, there is likely to be an increase in claims filed due to extraordinary work-related stress. For instance, under the prior legislation, a bank teller who was at work during a robbery had a viable stress claim although they are not a first responder, as the stress due to the robbery is greater than the usual irritations to which all workers are occasionally subjected. Under the new legislation a bank teller may seek a stress claim based on the usual irritations of what working as a bank teller entails.

As with physical injuries, the question of whether a causal relationship exists between a work activity and an ensuring psychological disability is an issue of fact for resolution by the Workers’ Compensation Board. The onus to determine what qualifies as “extraordinary,” a standard that is not defined by statute, will be placed on law judges. Extensive litigation on the issue of what constitutes “extraordinary” stress and increased administrative expenses on IMEs and medical testimony may resolve on a case-by-case basis.

For more information or immediate guidance, contact:

• Ayomikun Loye
• Philip Unwin
• Todd M. Jones
• Damon M. Gruber
• Sean J. McKinley
• Esther F. Omoloyin
• Or another member of our Workers’ Compensation practice group