2023 New York Laws › WKC - Workers' Compensation › Article 8 - Administration › 150 - Referees and Secretary.

§  150.  Referees  and  secretary. (a) The chair shall appoint as many
persons as may be  necessary  to  be  referees  to  perform  the  duties
prescribed  by  this  section. All positions of referee now in existence
shall remain in the exempt class of the classified civil service, except
as  otherwise  provided  herein.  The  term  of  referees  appointed  to
positions  in  the  exempt  class  shall be seven years from the date of
appointment; provided, however, that referees  may  be  removed  by  the
chair  for cause after notice of charges and an opportunity to be heard.
A newly created position of referee, or one that has been vacated, shall
be classified in the competitive class of the  classified  service,  and
the   term   of  office  prescribed  herein  shall  not  apply  to  such
appointments; provided, however, that those who are serving  in  referee
positions  on  the  date  that this act becomes effective whose term has
already expired or whose term expires on or after  such  effective  date
may,  in the discretion of the appointing authority, be retained in that
position until the expiration of the eligible list  established  as  the
result  of  the next competitive examination appropriate for such title,
held after January first, nineteen hundred  ninety-one  or  may,  before
such time, be appointed from such eligible list.
A  referee  shall  devote his or her entire time to the duties of that
office and shall not hold any other public office or  public  employment
for which compensation is received, other than necessary travel or other
expenses  incurred  in  the  performance of the duties of such office or
employment, and may engage in any employment that does not conflict with
the proper performance of the duties of his or her  office  and  is  not
inconsistent  with  the  public  officers law. Referees shall receive an
annual salary to be fixed by the chair  within  the  appropriation  made
therefor.
(b)  It  shall  be  the  duty of a referee, under rules adopted by the
board, to hear and determine claims for  compensation,  and  to  conduct
such  hearings and investigations and to make such orders, decisions and
determinations as may be required by any  general  or  special  rule  or
order of the board under the provisions of this chapter. The decision of
a referee on such a claim shall be deemed the decision of the board from
the  date  of  the  filing thereof in the office of the secretary of the
board unless the board, on its own motion or on application duly made to
it, modify or rescind such decision. Whenever any deaf person is a party
to a hearing conducted before a  referee,  or  a  witness  therein,  the
referee  shall  in  all instances appoint a qualified interpreter who is
certified by a recognized  national  or  New  York  state  credentialing
authority to interpret the proceedings to and the testimony of such deaf
person.  The  board  shall  determine  a  reasonable  fee  for  all such
interpreting  services,  the  cost  of   which   shall   constitute   an
administrative expense.
(c)  Notwithstanding  any  other  provisions  of  this  section to the
contrary, the chair may establish a list of board employees qualified by
training or experience to serve as acting referees. When  the  chair  or
his  or  her  duly  designated  representative  shall  determine  that a
temporary emergency exists, he, she or said representative may assign an
employee from such list to  serve  as  an  acting  referee  during  such
temporary  emergency.  Such  board  employee  qualified  by  training or
experience shall serve without additional compensation  and  shall  have
all the powers and duties of a duly appointed referee.
(d) There shall be a secretary of the board who shall be appointed and
may  be  removed by the board. The board shall fix his salary within the
limits of the appropriations therefor. The secretary shall perform  such
duties in connection with meetings of the board and such other duties as
may  be  assigned to him by the board. He shall also perform such of the

administrative duties and have such of the administrative powers of  the
chairman  of  the  board  as  may be delegated or assigned to him by the
chairman.