By
SHERRY HALBROOKThanks to PEF, more than 70 members who were hurt on the job will now receive supplemental payments the state owed them under Article 13 of the PS&T contract, but neglected to pay because of a computer glitch.
PEF Director of Health and Safety Jonathan Rosen discovered the problem in late 2007 while helping an injured member deal with the state Workers’ Compensation system.
The member told him she had not received the supplemental payments that are meant to bring the combined Workers’ Comp. and state pay of members, who are more than 50 percent disabled on the job, up to 60 percent of their gross pay prior to the work-related disability.
Rosen began asking state officials why the payments weren’t made.
“The state Insurance Fund (SIF) investigated promptly and found 71 PEF members who did not get the supplement for a period of at least six to nine months. It may have been going on much longer, but the state has not provided that level of detail,” Rosen said.
So far, the state has declined to tell PEF who was affected, how much money was owed and how many employees in other bargaining units with similar contractual provisions also may have been affected.
PEF was told injured employees at the following sites were affected:
• NYS Veterans’ Home at Batavia, operated by the state Health Department (DOH) in Batavia;
• Brooklyn Children’s Psychiatric Center, operated by the state Office of Mental Health in Brooklyn;
• NYS Veterans’ Home at Montrose, operated by DOH in Montrose;
• NYS Veterans’ Home at St. Albans, operated by DOH in Jamaica, Queens;
• Sunmount Center for Intensive Treatment, operated by the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) in Tupper Lake; and
• Valley Ridge Center for Intensive Treatment, operated by OMRDD in Norwich.
Rosen said SIF, which administers the Workers’ Comp. benefit for the state, notifies OSC when a state employee is eligible for the contractual supplemental payment benefit. However, some necessary “entity” codes were not entered into the computer program used by SIF to transmit the data to the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC), resulting in nonpayment of the supplement to the affected employees. Now, SIF has instituted procedures to ensure the error will not be repeated.
Rosen said if it weren’t for the direct contact with members that results from the NYS AFL-CIO’s Navigator Program, the problem might have gone unrecognized.
“Through that program, we have trained more than 200 PEF members and staff to help injured members navigate the complex, technical and often difficult Workers’ Compensation System,” Rosen said. “We tell any member who contacts us for help with their Workers’ Comp to check their PS&T Contract to learn about their additional benefits under Article 13.”
If you are or were a Workers’ Comp. claimant with more than 50 percent disability, you can check your pay stubs to see if you have received Article 13 supplemental payments (available for up to 39 weeks) from the state while off the job, or ask your agency personnel office for a Personal Workers Compensation Data Sheet for that time period.
If you feel you were eligible for the payments but did not receive them, contact your PEF steward or field representative or call the PEF Health and Safety Department at 800-342-4306, ext. 254.
