Overview
Penalties issued for failure to secure workers' compensation coverage (§52.5) or failure to secure disability benefits coverage with Paid Family Leave (§220) occur when the Board is notified by the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) that an employer has registered to report payroll and the Board was not provided electronic proof of coverage from a licensed insurance carrier. It may also occur when coverage is not correctly linked with the employer's Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) or when an insurance policy is canceled by a carrier and a reinstatement of coverage is not received or new coverage is not reported.
To be compliant, the employer must have coverage and have that coverage properly filed by the insurance carrier OR submit documentation detailing the reason why coverage is not required. Review Coverage Requirements (Workers' Compensation, Disability Benefits with Paid Family Leave).
- Communications with your insurance carrier or other State agencies do not update the status of the employer with the Board.
- Additionally, the issuance of a Certificate of Attestation of Exemption (Form CE-200) does not update Board records and cannot be used to resolve a penalty.
If you received a statement referencing a lapse, but do not have correspondence available that contains the dates and/or type of lapse, you may contact the Board at (866) 298-7830 for assistance obtaining this information.
How to resolve when coverage was not required
Once you have reviewed the Coverage Requirements (Workers' Compensation, Disability Benefits with Paid Family Leave), if you believe that you did not require coverage for all or part of the lapse, please contact the Insurance Compliance unit by email at ICUWebmail@wcb.ny.gov, providing the information below.
Required information:
- Subject line must read:
- Form request
- Email must contain:
- WCB Employer Number/Customer ID
- Business / Legal entity name
- Reason and dates coverage was not required
- Sender name, title, relationship to business, and contact number
A representative will review your email and respond with a form OR a list of documents required to update your record. The Board cannot complete record updates based on emails, you must complete the form provided or submit all documents requested for review.
How to resolve when coverage is not required and the penalty has a Judgment
If you received a Final Notice, Restraining Notice, or have a Judgment filed and you believe that you did not require coverage for all or part of the lapse, please submit the documentation listed below:
- True copy of the employer's complete, annual federal tax return with all schedules, statements, and attachments that were filed for all years of the penalty period. If the employer's returns have a deduction for "outside services, independent contractors, subcontractors, management fees, consultants or commissions," please provide the following information and documents: (a) through (e)
- The names of the individuals and/or entities paid.
- The amounts paid, date(s) services were provided, and date(s) of payment.
- The type of engagement/job duties of each individual and any supporting documentation. For example: contracts, agreements, work orders, etc.
- Certificates of insurance from contractors in effect during periods of noncompliance.
- Proof of separate business: websites, advertisements, letterhead, social media sites.
- True copies of the employer's complete New York State quarterly tax returns [NYS-45]. Please do NOT submit federal Form 941 quarterly payroll returns.
- If the business is closed or ceased operations, please provide the Board with the following document(s):
- For a corporation, a true copy of the Certificate of Dissolution filed with New York State.
- For a sole proprietor or partnership, a true copy of the signed and filed Certificate of Discontinuance of Business or Partnership.
- For a sale of the business, a copy of the contract of sale, Bill of Sale, and Closing Statement reflecting the actual date of sale.
- For a merger, a copy of merger documents showing that the employer was merged out of existence as of a specific date.
- A true copy of the employer's annual federal income tax return marked FINAL.
- An affidavit from the employer stating that the business is no longer operational as of a specific date with any other proof the employer wishes to submit.
Documentation can be submitted by any of the following methods:
- NYS Workers' Compensation Board
Judgment Unit
PO Box 5200
Binghamton, NY 13902 - ICDocuments@wcb.ny.gov
- Subject line must read:
- CORRJU and include the WCB EMP# or Customer ID#
- Please submit the documents as a scanned image or PDF attached to the email.
- This email is for the submission of documents only and is not monitored for questions or responses.
- DO NOT send zip files, photos, photos saved as a PDF, PDFs created using a mobile device, or embedded images.
- DO NOT send links to documents, password protected documents, or encrypted emails.
- Allow up to 12 weeks receive a response. Responses are normally sent by mail to the address on file.
OR
Questions about Judgments can be submitted to the Judgment unit at JUD@wcb.ny.gov.
How to resolve when there is/was coverage
If there is/was coverage in place for all or part of the lapse, please request your licensed insurance carrier to submit an electronic proof of coverage transaction to the Board using your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). Please compare the FEIN listed on our record with the FEIN provided to you by the Internal Revenue Service on form CP-575/SS4.
- If the numbers do not match, email a copy of the IRS CP-575/SS4 to the Data Administration unit at dau@wcb.ny.gov advising you need a FEIN update. Include the WCB Employer Number/Customer ID and entity name in the email request.
- If the numbers match, contact your insurance carrier to verify this FEIN is also on your policy. Request the carrier submit an electronic proof of coverage transaction for the FEIN listed above.
For workers' compensation policies, please ensure that NY is endorsed as a covered state under Section 3A of the Information Page of the insurance policy.
Disability benefits and Paid Family Leave is an insurance policy for NYS statutory disability and Paid Family Leave benefits purchased by an employer. It is specific to NY and separate from workers' compensation insurance.
You can review what policies the Board currently has on file by using the employer coverage search on our website at https://www.wcb.ny.gov/icpocinq/icpocsearch.jsp. Please perform your search using the "Search by NYS WCB Employer Number" option to verify what policies are linked to your employer record. Please note your Customer ID# is also your WCB EMP#.
How to pay a valid penalty
If the Board's employer record reflects that you are currently in compliance with both workers' compensation and disability and Paid Family Leave benefits coverage and an outstanding lapse period remains, the employer may request an offer of reduction by emailing the Penalty Collection unit at PCU@wcb.ny.gov.
Please review the following information regarding offers of reduction:
- The Board does not waive valid penalties.
- The Board follows set guidelines for settlement of penalties to remain fair and consistent with all external stakeholders.
- As advised in the initial penalty notice, the Board may be able to utilize your workers' compensation premium to determine the reduction of the workers' compensation penalty. If you would like your premium considered in this calculation, please forward a copy of the policy declaration/information page that lists the total estimated annual premium or for multi-state policies, please include the Schedule of Operations for New York.
- Payment plans may be available, including up to one year interest free.
- Please note, where applicable, final payment has no bearing on debarment status for contracts related to public works.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Why did I receive a statement with the full penalty amount when I entered into a payment plan?
Monthly statements are computer generated. Per the bolded language at the bottom of your payment agreement, monthly statements will continue to reflect the entire penalty balance until the offer of settlement has been paid in full.
If a judgment has been filed, a Satisfaction of Judgment will not be filed by the Board until the entire offer of settlement has been paid in full and the payment plan completed. The Satisfaction will be filed by the Board with the appropriate County Office.
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Why did I receive a penalty when I responded to the inquiry notice?
If you replied to an inquiry notice advising you did not require coverage and a penalty was issued, the Board may require additional information to complete the update. If you received a follow up form (often starting with TF), please make sure to complete the form in its entirety and submit it to the Board for review.
If you replied to an inquiry notice with coverage information and the penalty was later issued, it could be due to one of the following:
- The licensed insurance carrier did not submit the required proof of coverage transaction to place your coverage on file, OR the coverage was filed under a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) different from what the Board has on record. The Board cannot edit or add carrier data. When an employer submits coverage information to the Board, the Board sends a notice to the carrier requesting they submit the proof of coverage transaction. You should contact your carrier to verify that you had coverage during the lapse and request they submit the coverage transaction.
- The coverage was not in effect for the entire period of the lapse.
Your timely response to the inquiry notice does not prevent a penalty from being issued. Penalties are time-based. If you did not have coverage or were not exempt during the entire period listed on your inquiry/penalty notice, a penalty may be issued. You may request a reduction of these penalties by emailing pcu@wcb.ny.gov. Please include your WCB Employer Number/Customer ID.
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I paid my penalty, why am I still on debarment?
Payment of a valid penalty does NOT remove an employer from debarment. Only the rescission of an invalid penalty will remove an employer from debarment.
For additional inquiries and information on debarment, you may contact the Advocate for Business.
- Phone: (518) 486-3331
- Email: advocatebusiness@wcb.ny.gov
Please be prepared with the following information:
- Complete entity name
- Contact person name, phone number, and email address
- WCB employer number
- Brief description of request or the problem and any correspondence received