New York State Workers’ Compensation and Stress

Work-related stress is a growing concern in today’s fast-paced work environment. While stress is a natural part of any job, excessive workplace stress can have significant psychological and physical impacts. In New York State (NYS), as of January 1, 2025, the workers’ compensation law has been amended to allow an employee to make a claim for workers’ compensation benefits for certain types of mental health injuries based on extraordinary work-related stress.

The law now states “[w]here a worker files a claim for mental injury premised upon extraordinary work-related stress incurred at work, the [Workers’ Compensation Board] may not disallow the claim upon a factual finding that the stress was not greater than that which usually occurs in the normal work environment.”  Previously, only first responders were eligible for such benefits, and then only in certain situations.

The question of whether a causal relationship exists between the stress and work activity is an issue the Workers’ Compensation Board will need to address on a case-by-case basis.

On February 14, 2025, Governor Hochul signed an amendment to this law which will take effect on June 4, 2025. The amendment explains that  covered employees must demonstrate that the mental disorder arose out of extraordinary work-related stress attributable to a distinct work-related event or events directly related to the employment and occurring during the performance of the employee’s job duties.

In addition, there are questions as to what impact this addition to the workers’ compensation law will have on claims made by employees alleging emotional distress as a result of harassment, discrimination and/or retaliation in the workplace. Will an employee be barred from asserting emotional distress claims in those cases where the employee has previously filed a stress-related workers’ compensation claim? Should employers report such claims to their workers’ compensation carriers immediately upon receipt of same? Employers should keep this in mind and discuss it with counsel when dealing with employee lawsuits on a going forward basis.

If you have any questions regarding this new law and the recent update, please reach out to Rimon Law for assistance.

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This summary is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice nor does it create an attorney-client relationship with Rimon, P.C. or its affiliates.