By
SHERRY HALBROOKYou might think listening to people’s hard-luck stories about getting hurt on the job could get to be a downer if you did it every day. But that’s not how PEF member and administrative law judge Robert Beloten has seen his job as a hearing officer for the state Workers Compensation Board (WCB).
“I love to do my job. Nothing feels better than when someone tells me I helped them be restored to health and to work,” Beloten said. “That’s the goal, to get them back on their feet and feeling self-sufficient, to restore their dignity and sense of self esteem.
“I give out replacement wages and medical care.
What could be more central and important to people’s lives?” Beloten said.
Decades of experience
It’s that appreciation for the seriousness and importance of the work and his sterling record of service that impressed members of the state Senate Labor and Finance Committees and their fellow senators. In May, they reviewed and approved Beloten’s nomination by Gov. David Paterson to become one of the state’s 13 WCB com-missioners.
“It’s nice to see someone with your passion for the work,” state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins told Beloten at his hearing before the Labor Committee.
In addition to 18 years as a WCB hearing officer, Beloten also spent four years as a hearing officer in Mineola for real property tax assessment appeals under the state Supreme Court, and three years as a hearing officer for the state Racing and Wagering Board. He even drafted legislation and rules and regulations for racing and wagering.
Among the very challenging high-profile cases he heard for the WCB, were the claims arising from the 1988 Pan Am Airlines crash in Lockerbie, Scotland. He also heard the first AIDS case brought by a health care professional under the state Workers Compensation Law.
Beloten maintained one of the lowest reversal rates of any state hearing officer for the WCB, while producing the highest disposition rate in the state while he served at the Brooklyn office from 1988-1996. At that post, he heard more than 50,000 claims for benefits arising out of industrial accidents and exposure to toxic substances throughout the state.
While his new appointment as a WCB commissioner is a step up in stature – he’s now ruling on appeals to the decisions of his former colleagues – it’s a step down in pay.
“I’m taking a $10,000 annual pay cut,” Beloten said, “but it’s an honor to serve the people of New York.
“I really want to thank the governor for nominating me to become a commissioner. We were classmates in law school at Hofstra, and he knows how much I want to make a difference,” Beloten said.
PEF member Barbara Posner, a workers comp judge who has worked with Beloten for years, was very supportive of his appointment to the board of commissioners.
“Bob has had the hearing room next to mine, and it’s been a great pleasure to work with him,” Posner said. “He is very conscientious and hard working, and he has been a staunch PEF member for 25 years. I’ll miss him.”
“My parents were union members,” Beloten said, “and I’ve loved being a member of PEF.”
Hitting the road running
Only a week after his confirmation by the Senate May 12, Beloten joined two other commissioners in reviewing decisions that were being appealed.
“Before, I was, in essence, in control of my courtroom, deciding what evidence to allow and how much weight to give it. Now, I’m basically on an appellate court with two other board members. If we don’t all three agree, then the appeal goes to the full board for a decision.
“I receive at least 15 appeals a day and often take work home with me at night. It’s a hard job reviewing the work of other judges,” Beloten said.
To ensure his objectivity, Beloten said, “I cover the names of the attorneys and judges. I’ve trained myself to disregard names. And I review all the documents in the file.
“The most important thing is to review for errors of law and to make sure the decision was based on the evidence presented in the board file,” Beloten said.
Beloten told the Senate Labor Committee the greatest threat to the workers comp system is employers hiring workers “off the books” and paying them in cash.
If the worker is injured, the employer’s workers comp carrier may have to pay the claim even though the carrier was unaware of the liability. The lack of payroll records and taxes makes it difficult to be sure the claimant was really employed, what his duties were, when he worked, and his pay rate.
“Was this person an employee or an independent contractor? These situations directly affect the integrity of the system,” Beloten said. “Fraud inflates the costs for everyone.
“Many people form their opinions about the entire justice system based on their experiences in these small courts. It’s very important for them to feel someone listened to them and gave them their day in court,” Beloten said.
“There are very few judges who don’t want to make the world a better place. It’s a fantastic feeling when you have ferreted out the truth. When you find the truth, only good can come of it.
