Introduction

New York Workers’ Compensation Law provides injured workers in New York with compensation and medical care. N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law (2002). Enacted in 1913, the law responded to the negative effects of the industrial revolution. The large, powerful machines and close working quarters of the new era caused more numerous and more traumatic injuries than the antiquated machines of earlier times. The legislature attempted to protect workers from incurring financial losses when injured and, simultaneously, to protect growing industries from massive tort awards. Because of the "remedial purpose" and "humanitarian objectives" of the legislation, Holcomb v. Daily News, 45 N.Y.2d 602, 607 (N.Y. 1978), New York courts interpret the statutes "liberally in favor of the employee." Wolfe v. Sibley Lindsay & Curr Co., 36 N.Y.2d 505, 508 (N.Y. 1975) (citing Heitz v. Ruppert, 218 N.Y. 148 (N.Y. 1916)). The intent is to ultimately pass on the costs of workers’ injuries to the final consumer of the product. Id.

The basic elements of the New York Workers’ Compensation Law are that any employee injured while performing in the scope of her employment, regardless of fault, is entitled to compensation in the form of lost income and medical care paid for by the employer. N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law § 10 (2002). The act goes on to enumerate and limit the type of compensation owed and the amount of compensation paid to the employee. This system of enumerated rights and limits was intended to reduce costs to both parties by circumventing the courts. However, many disputes erupt over what constitutes an employee or an employer, or what constitutes a compensable injury. As a result, it is obvious that workers’ compensation has not completely eliminated litigation costs to either party.

The underlying policy that drove the states and the entire nation towards developing workers’ compensation legislation is described in the historical background section. This article will then examine the areas subject to dispute; generally, who qualifies as a "worker" for workers’ compensation, and who is considered an "employer." Finally, the article will revisit the history and policy of the law to understand what future applications of the workers’ compensation program may look like.