Editorial: Stress law puts comp to the test

(This editorial was written before the passage of an amendment to the law discussed.)

Workers compensation adjudicators in New York will have their work cut out as they seek to assess the validity of mental stress claims under a recently enacted law.

While they already have experience in deciding whether post-traumatic stress disorder claims from first responders should be paid under comp, the new law greatly expands the range of workers who might file stress claims without providing the guidance necessary to make the right calls.

As we report here, S.B. 6635/A.B. 5745, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in December, allows workers to file comp claims for mental injuries related to “extraordinary work-related stress,” which is undefined in the text. Under the law, claims cannot be rejected if the stress is “not greater than that which usually occurs in the normal work environment,” so the determination will be based on the degree of the stress rather than the cause.

Several states allow workers comp for mental injuries, mostly for workers with tough assignments such as firefighters and cops or those who experience a single traumatic event, but the New York law opens up the system to various stress claims from any worker without details on what must occur.

While many jobs can be stressful, ascertaining whether the stress is “extraordinary” and directly related to work will be challenging for several reasons.

For example, how can you consistently determine whether stress is work-related or caused by personal circumstances outside of work or a combination of the two? Many people suffer stress in their lives, but it can be tough to decide whether a mental injury or condition is caused by, say, an experience at work or difficult circumstances at home.

Also, workplace stress is a subjective experience that varies from person to person and is hard to define for workers and medical professionals.

These ambiguities are likely to complicate the law’s administration, making it vulnerable to exaggeration or fraud, and could lead to a surge in workers compensation stress claims and a rise in premiums.

While concerns over mental health have rightly become more prominent in recent years, New York’s law raises significant issues that, absent the success of efforts to amend the law, will have to be addressed by the state’s workers comp review process. Employers and employees need realistic guidance on what constitutes a legitimate stress-related claim to ensure fairness for both sides.

Additionally, within the state-based workers comp system, laws in one jurisdiction often get adopted and implemented in others. This approach is sensible when new laws and regulations are introduced, tested and refined based on practical experience. However, problems can escalate quickly if legislative trends spread too rapidly. Other states should take a wait-and-see approach before following the Empire State’s example on workplace stress relief.