STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5609
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 16, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROZIC -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Labor
AN ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to providing
language access services
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 3 of section 17-a of the workers'
2 compensation law, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 131 of the laws of
3 2022 and subdivision 3 as added by chapter 622 of the laws of 2021, are
4 amended to read as follows:
5 1. [The] In accordance with section two hundred two-a of the executive
6 law, the board shall provide translation of (a) all documents and forms
7 published by the board that injured employees complete; [and] (b) all
8 board documents that provide general information to injured employees on
9 the process of applying for workers' compensation benefits; and (c) all
10 other vital documents as defined by subdivision five of section two
11 hundred two-a of the executive law relevant to services offered by the
12 agency. [The translation shall be in the ten most common non-English
13 languages spoken by individuals with limited-English proficiency in the
14 state of New York.]
15 3. The board shall [publish a language access plan that reflects]:
16 (a) [the means by which it provides language assistance services]
17 develop a language access plan pursuant to subdivision three of section
18 two hundred two-a of the executive law and submit such plan to the
19 office of general services;
20 (b) [the titles of all available translated documents and the
21 languages into which they have been translated] publish the board's
22 language access plan on the board's website; and
23 (c) [the number of public contact positions at the board and the
24 number of bilingual employees in public contact positions, including the
25 languages they speak;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10313-01-3
A. 5609 2
1 (d) a training plan for board employees which includes, at minimum,
2 annual training on its language access policies and how to provide
3 language assistance services;
4 (e) a plan for annual internal monitoring of the board's language
5 access plan;
6 (f) a plan of how the board intends to notify injured employees of
7 offered language assistant services; and
8 (g) the appointment of a language access coordinator at the board, who
9 shall be publicly identified] designate a language access coordinator
10 who will work with the office of general services to ensure compliance
11 with the requirements of this section and section two hundred two-a of
12 the executive law.
13 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.