WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BOARD COMPARED TO THE CARRIER

Every new WC client who comes into my office gets a quick

lesson about the differences between the carrier and the Board.

It’s crucial that injured workers understand this concept.

“Board” is the term used to quickly refer to the New York State

Workers’ Compensation Board.

“Carrier” is the term most often used to describe the company

that acts on behalf of your employer. (In this book, I use the

term “carriers” to refer to self-insured employers, insurance

companies, and what are known as third party administrators,

which are claims handlers for employers.)

When you are injured at work, you will always be dealing with

and receiving correspondence from both the Board and the

carrier. They are completely different from each other. You need

to know which is which.

The carrier

• is on the side of the employer;

• actually pays out the benefits;

• can only be forced to pay a health provider or injured

worker if ordered to by the Board;

• is not on the side of the injured worker; and

• looks at each claim in monetary terms only and looks to pay

out as little as possible.

The decisions that the carrier makes are not final—they can be

overruled by the Board. When a carrier does something with

no order to do so by the Board, it is called a “voluntary” action;

it didn’t have to do it but did it on its own.

“The decisions that the carrier makes are not final.”

The Board

• is a New York State agency;

• acts as the court in WC cases;

• may hold hearings in the injured worker’s case;

• may determine not to hold hearings in the injured worker’s

case and instead to decide it on paper;

• acts as the “referee” between the injured employee and

employer;

• is impartial; and

• officially decides the injured worker’s case.