New York § 141 - 141General powers and duties of the chair

§ 141. 141General powers and duties of the chair

* § 141. General powers and duties of the chair. The chair shall be the administrative head of the workers' compensation board and shall exercise the powers and perform the duties in relation to the administration of this chapter heretofore vested in the commissioner of labor by chapter fifty of the laws of nineteen hundred twenty-one, and acts amendatory thereof, and by this chapter excepting article six thereof, and except in so far as such powers and duties are vested by this chapter in the workers' compensation board. The chair shall preside at all meetings of the board and shall appoint all committees and panels of the board; shall designate the times and places for the hearing of claims under this chapter and shall perform all administrative functions of the board as in this chapter set forth. The chair, in the name of the board, shall enforce all the provisions of this chapter, and may make administrative regulations and orders providing for the receipt, indexing and examining of all notices, claims and reports, for the giving of notice of hearings and of decisions, for certifying of records, for the fixing of the times and places for the hearing of claims, and for providing for the conduct of hearings and establishing of calendar practice to the extent not inconsistent with the rules of the board. The chair shall issue and may revoke certificates of authorization of physicians, chiropractors and podiatrists as provided in sections thirteen-a, thirteen-k and thirteen-1 of this chapter, and licenses for medical bureaus and x-ray and other laboratories under the provisions of section thirteen-c of this chapter, issue stop work orders as provided in section one hundred forty-one-a of this article, and shall have and exercise all powers not otherwise provided for herein in relation to the administration of this chapter heretofore expressly conferred upon the commissioner of labor by any of the provisions of this chapter, or of the labor law. The chair, on behalf of the workers' compensation board, shall enter into the agreement provided for in section one hundred seventy-one-h of the tax law, and shall take such other actions as may be necessary to carry out the agreement provided for in such section for matching beneficiary records of workers' compensation with information provided by employers to the state directory of new hires for the purposes of verifying eligibility for such benefits and for administering workers' compensation. * NB Effective until January 1, 2028 * § 141. General powers and duties of the chair. The chair shall be the administrative head of the workers' compensation board and shall exercise the powers and perform the duties in relation to the administration of this chapter heretofore vested in the commissioner of labor by chapter fifty of the laws of nineteen hundred twenty-one, and acts amendatory thereof, and by this chapter excepting article six thereof, and except in so far as such powers and duties are vested by this chapter in the workers' compensation board. The chair shall preside at all meetings of the board and shall appoint all committees and panels of the board; shall designate the times and places for the hearing of claims under this chapter and shall perform all administrative functions of the board as in this chapter set forth. The chair, in the name of the board, shall enforce all the provisions of this chapter, and may make administrative regulations and orders providing for the receipt, indexing and examining of all notices, claims and reports, for the giving of notice of hearings and of decisions, for certifying of records, for the fixing of the times and places for the hearing of claims, and for providing for the conduct of hearings and establishing of calendar practice to the extent not inconsistent with the rules of the board. The chair shall issue and may revoke certificates of authorization of physicians, chiropractors, podiatrists, and psychologists to perform independent medical examinations in accordance with paragraph (b) of subdivision four of section thirteen-a and section one hundred thirty-seven of this chapter, and licenses for medical bureaus and x-ray and other laboratories under the provisions of section thirteen-c of this chapter, shall publish and maintain an exclusion list, in accordance with section thirteen-d of this chapter, for providers as defined in section thirteen-b of this chapter currently disqualified from providing medical care or from performing independent medical examinations in accordance with paragraph (b) of subdivision four of section thirteen-a and section one hundred thirty-seven of this chapter, shall develop and require trainings for providers as defined in section thirteen-b of this chapter, which shall include, but not be limited to, the role of medical evidence in the board's determination of claims, the contents of medical reports, the process for seeking authorization for special services, diagnostic test networks, and permanency guidelines, issue stop work orders as provided in section one hundred forty-one-a of this article, and shall have and exercise all powers not otherwise provided for herein in relation to the administration of this chapter heretofore expressly conferred upon the commissioner of labor by any of the provisions of this chapter, or of the labor law. The chair, on behalf of the workers' compensation board, shall enter into the agreement provided for in section one hundred seventy-one-h of the tax law, and shall take such other actions as may be necessary to carry out the agreement provided for in such section for matching beneficiary records of workers' compensation with information provided by employers to the state directory of new hires for the purposes of verifying eligibility for such benefits and for administering workers' compensation. The chair shall promulgate regulations to (1) require that the employer or its carrier or special fund shall pay the costs associated with any deposition of a claimant's provider, and (2) allow workers' compensation law judges to deny cross-examination of a provider where appropriate. The chair may promulgate further regulations designed to prevent the consequences of a treating provider's failure to comply with statutory or regulatory provisions, including failure to appear for a deposition, from unduly harming the injured worker's receipt of compensation or medical treatment. * NB Effective January 1, 2028