Filing Extended For WTC-Tied Workers' Comp

Filing Extended For WTC-Tied Workers' Comp

By ARI PAUL

Those who worked at the World Trade Center site after 9/11 have one more year to file for Workers' Compensation, thanks to a bill Governor Spitzer signed last month.

JONATHAN BING: Key role in extension. Originally, workers had until Aug. 14 to submit WTC-12 forms to the Workers' Compensation Board. State Assembly Member Jonathan L. Bing introduced legislation that made Aug. 13, 2008 the new deadline. Previously, he had authored legislation to change the timeframe for filing claims from two years after the date of injury to the date of discovery.

More Taking Opportunity

"Before that law took effect, 55.4 percent of 9/11-related Workers' Compensation claims were controverted," said a statement from Assembly Member Bing's office. "After the enactment of the legislation, the number of controverted claims dropped to 40.1 percent. In addition, as of Aug. 10, 2007 almost 25,000 registration forms have been filed with the Workers' Compensation Board, and the number of registrations between July and August of 2007 was the highest since the law went into existence."

Workers involved in post-9/11 recovery work can learn more about filing for Workers' Compensation at the Web site for the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health at http://www.nycosh.org/911info/instructionsenglish.html.

"We were quite optimistic that the Legislature would see the need for the extension, given the low numbers of workers who have registered," said Joel Shufro, the executive director of NYCOSH, who lobbied in favor of the bill along with the State AFL-CIO. "It was also the right thing to do."

Barry Klein, a spokesman for Assembly Member Bing, noted that the lawmaker and his allies on the issue, such as Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, encouraged WTC workers to file a WTC-12 regardless of whether they thought they were sick or injured.

"Even if you feel better today," Mr. Klein said, "who knows how you might feel 10 years from now?"