New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 12 - DEPARTMENT OF LABOR › Chapter V - Workers' Compensation › Subchapter A - General Provisions › Part 300 - Procedure before the Board › Section 300.36 - Section 32 agreements

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
Statement of purpose. To encourage the parties in interest
					 to enter into agreements settling upon and determining the compensation and
					 other benefits due to the claimant or the claimant's dependents, or to agree
					 to accept a voluntary review process for the determination of compensation
					 benefits.
(a) The parties in interest
				  to a claim for compensation may settle upon and determine any and all issues
				  and matters by agreement, in accordance with section 32  of
				  the Workers' Compensation Law, subject to the terms and conditions of this
				  rule.
(b) Any agreement submitted
				  to the board for approval shall be on a form prescribed by the chair or,
				  alternatively, contain the information prescribed by the chair.
(c) The receipt of an agreement by the board
				  for approval shall act as a stay on all related proceedings before the
				  board.
(d) A represented claimant
				  and an employer, insurance carrier or special fund, who have had a dispute
				  regarding compensation benefits determined by a workers' compensation law
				  judge, may agree to enter into a voluntary binding review process, wherein the
				  parties establish the parameters of a section 32 agreement. Such proposed
				  agreement with the parameters and other terms included therein, shall be
				  submitted to a designee of the Chair. Upon the summary determination by the
				  Chair's designee made pursuant to and within the parameters of the parties'
				  agreement, such determination of compensation benefits set forth therein shall
				  be deemed to be incorporated as a term of the agreement as approved by the
				  board on the date the decision approving the agreement was duly filed and
				  served pursuant to subparagraph b of section 32  of
				  the Workers' Compensation Law.
(e)
				  An agreement submitted pursuant to section 32  of
				  the Workers' Compensation Law shall not be binding on the parties in interest
				  unless it is approved by the chair, a designee of the chair, a member of the
				  board, or a Workers' Compensation Law Judge. The agreement shall be approved
				  unless it is determined that:
(1) the
				  agreement is unfair, unconscionable, or improper as a matter of law;
				  or
(2) the agreement is the result
				  of an intentional misrepresentation of a material fact; or
(3) within 10 days of submission of the
				  agreement, the board has received from any party in interest a written request
				  that the agreement be disapproved by the board. A claimant who cashes or
				  deposits a check made pursuant to the agreement may not request that the
				  agreement be disapproved by the board, provided however that a claimant who has
				  been paid an incorrect amount shall have recourse to recover any unpaid amounts
				  and penalties associated to the late or incorrect payment. When the agreement
				  provides for payment to be made pursuant to section 25 (9)  of the Workers'
				  Compensation Law, the claimant must immediately return such payment when
				  requesting disapproval of the agreement or such request for disapproval may be
				  deemed waived and applicable penalties imposed.