New York Employers Cautioned on Rise in Mental Health Claims

• Employers across New York state are being advised that a recent change in workers’ compensation law, to include “all workers” in consideration of mental health claims could increase the number of mental health injury claims filed and associated employer costs, such as higher premiums.
• Writing on their law firm’s blog, Ford Harrison attorneys Hannah Kramer and Gregory Reilly, noted that as of Jan, 1, 2025, the New York Workers’ Compensation Law provides that “all workers” who suffer “mental injury premised upon extraordinary work-related stress” may file for workers’ compensation benefits for specific types of mental health injuries.
• “It may be a significant amendment depending upon how the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board and the courts interpret the phrase ‘extraordinary work-related stress’,” they wrote.
• They advised employers to ensure their HR teams can identify potential work-related mental health-related injuries and ensure they are properly reported.
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With Clock Ticking, Colorado Governor Pushed on WC Reforms

• Local Colorado media report that Gov. Jared Polis is coming under heavy pressure from both business and labor interests to decide on legislation that would significantly expand injured workers’ choice of providers for their healing process.
• The legislation, modifying a negotiated 2014 law, would allow injured workers to choose from any of the state’s nearly 1,200 workers-comp-accredited medical providers, so long as they are located within 75 miles of the employee’s home or workplace.
• Asking workers who are injured on the job to navigate a 1,200-person provider list while they are in pain and concerned about their futures “is the opposite of prioritizing the well-being of injured workers,” Pinnacol President/CEO John O’Donnell said in a statement.
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