New York Consolidated Laws, Workers' Compensation Law - WKC § 3. Application

1. Hazardous employments.  Compensation shall be payable for injuries or death incurred by employees in the following employments:

Group 14-a. On and after January first, nineteen hundred sixty-two, any other employment in a trade, business, or occupation carried on by the employer for pecuniary gain in which one or more employees are employed.

Group 14-b. Employment as a farm laborer as provided herein.  A farmer shall provide coverage under this chapter for all farm laborers.

Group 15. Employment as a keeper, guard, resident physician, nurse, interne, resident interne, assistant resident interne or orderly in a prison reformatory, hospital for the mentally ill or hospital maintained or operated by a municipal corporation or other subdivision of the state, notwithstanding the definitions of the terms “employment,” “employer” or “employee” in subdivisions three, four and five of section two of this chapter.

Group 15-a. Employment as a county fire coordinator or as a deputy county fire coordinator pursuant to section two hundred twenty-five-a or section four hundred one of the county law, notwithstanding the definitions of the terms “employer”, “employee” or “employment” in subdivisions three, four and five of section two of this chapter.

The terms “county fire coordinator” and “deputy county fire coordinator,” as used in this group, shall include any county official who is not appointed pursuant to the provisions of section two hundred twenty-five-a of the county law, but is appointed pursuant to the provisions of a special law, a county charter or a county local law and who is authorized or required to perform in the county the duties which are similar to those of a county fire coordinator or deputy county fire coordinator under such section of the county law and sections eight hundred seven-a and eight hundred seven-b of the education law.

Group 16. Any employment by the state, including the employment of all elected and appointed public officers, notwithstanding the definitions of the terms “employment,” “employer” or “employee,” in subdivisions three, four and five of section two of this chapter;  but work as a civil defense volunteer under the provisions of the state defense emergency act   1 shall not be deemed employment by the state.  An employee engaged in any employment herein whose wages are paid by a municipal corporation or other subdivision of the state or by an employer other than the state shall be deemed an employee of such municipal corporation or other political subdivision of the state or such employer other than the state for the purposes of this chapter.  The head of any department of the state government may, with the prior written approval of the director of the budget, accept or approve the acceptance by any bureau, agency or other unit within said department of the services of a volunteer worker without salary, and such a volunteer worker shall be deemed to be an employee in the employment of the state in the unclassified service for the purpose of this chapter.

Group 17. Any employment carried on by a municipal corporation or other subdivision of the state and enumerated in the foregoing groups one to fourteen, inclusive, and on and after July first, nineteen hundred fifty-one, other such employment to the extent of authorized services related to civil defense and performed by employees in the course of employment or in relation thereto;  and the sheriff and undersheriff of any county and the duly appointed regular deputies of the sheriff, notwithstanding the definition of the term “employment” in subdivision five of section two of this chapter;  but employment in the department of sanitation of the city of New York in the sanitation service classification of the classified civil service of such city shall not be within the coverage of this chapter.  The activities of civil defense volunteers who are auxiliary firefighters and members of rescue squads in authorized services while undergoing training or practice sponsored or authorized by a local office of civil defense, as defined in the state defense emergency act,  2 and on and after July first, nineteen hundred fifty-three, the activities of all civil defense volunteers who are personnel of such local office of civil defense in authorized services during authorized participation in training and practice exercises held at the direction of or designated as state training and practice exercises by the state civil defense commission pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-one, subdivision three-f of the state defense emergency act,  3 are hazardous employments carried on by the municipal corporation or other subdivision of the state that created the local office under the state defense emergency act   1 and such members of an auxiliary police organization located in a municipal corporation which elected to include such persons within the definition of “employee” as authorized by subdivision four of section two of this chapter shall be deemed employees of the municipal corporation authorizing their services, and such members of rescue squads, auxiliary firefighters, and civil defense volunteers shall be deemed employees of the municipal corporation or other subdivision of the state for purposes of this chapter, provided, however, that each such municipal corporation or other subdivision of the state or insurance carrier shall in the first instance pay all awards of workers' compensation, including medical benefits, provided by this chapter;  and such municipal corporation or other subdivision of the state or insurance carrier shall be reimbursed by the comptroller of the state of New York, periodically every six months, on vouchers certified by the state civil defense commission, for one-half of all workers' compensation benefits, including both cash and medical benefits, paid pursuant to awards of the board, to the extent not previously reimbursed, paid for injury or death of a civil defense volunteer caused by an accident that arose out of and in the course of any such training and practice exercise, held on and after July first, nineteen hundred fifty-three, at the direction of or designated as a state training and practice exercise by the state civil defense commission pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-one, subdivision three-f of the state defense emergency act.  3  A town shall not be deemed to be the employer of the officers and employees of a fire district and shall not be liable for payment of compensation to such officers or employees under any provision of this chapter.  A social services official, as defined in subdivision fourteen of section two of the social services law, may accept or approve the services of volunteer workers without salary, in accordance with the regulations of the state department of social services, and such a voluntary worker shall be deemed to be an employee of the social services district in the unclassified service for the purpose of this chapter.

Group 18. All other employments, except persons engaged in a teaching or nonmanual capacity in or for a religious, charitable or educational institution, notwithstanding the definition of employment in subdivision five of section two, not hereinbefore enumerated, carried on by any person, firm or corporation in which there are engaged or employed one or more employees regularly, in the same business or in or about the same establishment either upon the premises or at the plant or away from the plant of the employer, under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, except farm laborers and domestics other than those within the coverage of this chapter pursuant to groups fourteen-b and twelve respectively of this subdivision, unless the employer has elected to bring such employees under the law by securing compensation in accordance with the terms of section fifty of this chapter and persons engaged in voluntary service not under contract of hire.  A duly ordained, commissioned or licensed minister, priest or rabbi, a sexton, a christian science reader, or a member of a religious order, shall not be deemed to be employed or engaged in employment under the terms of this section.  Recipients of charitable aid from a religious or charitable institution who perform work in or for the institution which is incidental to or in return for the aid conferred, and not under any express contract of hire, shall not be deemed to be employed or engaged in employment under the terms of this section.  All persons who are members of a supervised amateur athletic activity operated on a non-profit basis shall not be deemed to be employed or engaged in employment under the terms of this section, provided that said members are not also otherwise engaged or employed by any person, firm or corporation participating in said athletic activity.  The terms “religious, charitable or educational institution” mean a corporation, unincorporated association, community chest, fund or foundation organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable or educational purposes, no part of the net earnings of which inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

Group 19. An employer may bring an employment that is not listed in this section within the coverage of this chapter by securing compensation to his employee or employees engaged in such employment in accordance with section fifty of this chapter.

Any municipal corporation or other political subdivision of the state may bring its employees or officers, elective or appointed or otherwise, not enumerated in groups one to seventeen of subdivision one of this section inclusive, of this chapter within the coverage of this chapter by appropriate action of the legislative or governmental body of the municipal corporation or political subdivision, notwithstanding the definitions of the terms “employment,” “employer” or “employee” in subdivisions three, four and five of section two of this chapter;  and by separate and distinct action of said legislative or governmental body may bring within the coverage of this chapter any group, as defined by order of the New York state civil defense commission, of civil defense volunteers not enumerated in group seventeen of subdivision one of this section, who are personnel of a volunteer agency of the local office of such municipal corporation or other political subdivision, as defined in the state defense emergency act, as to their authorized civil defense services to the extent not covered under article ten of this chapter.  Where one or more groups of such civil defense volunteers of a county office of civil defense are not brought within the coverage of this chapter by the county, a town or a village in such county or a city participating in the consolidated county office of civil defense of such county may, by separate and distinct action of its legislative or governmental body, bring the members of such group or groups of duly enrolled civil defense volunteers who are residents of and are enrolled from such town, village or city within the coverage of this chapter during any period when the county has not so provided;  however, whenever a county brings one or more groups of its civil defense volunteers within the coverage of this chapter, such other coverage of members of such group or groups by the town, village or city shall be deemed terminated to the extent and as of the date coverage is afforded by the county.  A village may not provide such coverage during any period coverage is provided by a town in which the village is located, except where there is a deputy director of civil defense for a village not wholly within one town.

A public or not-for-profit corporation, association, institution or agency organized as an unincorporated association or duly incorporated under the laws of this state shall be deemed to be an employer of persons who are performing services for it pursuant to paragraphs (h) and (i) of subdivision two of section 65.10 of the penal law in fulfillment of a sentence of probation or of conditional discharge and of persons performing such services pursuant to the provisions of section 170.55 or 170.56 of the criminal procedure law, and such persons shall for the purposes of this chapter be deemed to be employees for the public or not-for-profit corporation, association, institution or agency.  Said employer may elect to bring such employees within the coverage of this chapter by securing compensation in accordance with the terms of section fifty of this chapter.

Group 20. In a city having a population of one million or more, teachers, regular or substitute, of shop work, manual training, industrial or trade subjects, mechanic arts, textiles, machine shop assistants, laboratory assistants, laboratory specialists, laboratory technicians, and teachers of any subject, trade, or employment requiring, for instruction purposes, use of tools or machinery for which protective, guarding or safety devices are required by the labor law, may elect to receive the benefits prescribed by this chapter provided they are not qualified to receive benefits even if eligible to apply for retirement under the teachers' retirement system in said city.  An election to come within this chapter shall constitute a waiver of any right to receive absence refunds from the board of education of said city.  But a teacher shall, if incapacitated to teach by reason of his injuries, be entitled to the refund of his accumulated deductions in the teachers' retirement system or in lieu thereof he may elect to receive an annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of said accumulated deductions.  Any election or choice provided for herein may be made for the teacher by one acting in the teacher's behalf if said teacher is incapacitated to act for himself.

Group 20-a. For the purposes of this chapter, the work of any person employed as a school aide by school authorities of any school district, notwithstanding the definitions of the terms “employer,” “employee” or “employment” in subdivisions three, four and five of section two of this chapter.

Group 20-b. For the purposes of this chapter, the work of any person employed in a nonpedagogical capacity by school authorities within a city having a population of one million or more, notwithstanding the definitions of the terms “employer”, “employee” or “employment” in subdivisions three, four and five of section two of this chapter.

Group 21. For the purposes of this chapter, on and after January first, nineteen hundred sixty-two, the work of a newspaper carrier as defined in section thirty-two hundred twenty-eight of the education law for an employer of one or more employees as defined in subdivisions three and four of section two of this chapter.

Group 22. Employment as a teacher in a public school or place of instruction maintained or operated by a board of education or trustees of a school district, other than a school district located in a city having a population of more than one million, notwithstanding the definitions of the terms “employment,” “employer” or “employee” in subdivisions three, four and five of section two of this chapter.

Group 23. For the purposes of this chapter, the work of any person employed to direct vehicular traffic at any street crossing or highway intersection crossed by pupils in going to and returning from any school in this state, whose chief duty primarily is to guard the life and safety of such pupils.

Group 24. For the purposes of this chapter, employment of any person appointed by the board of water supply of the city of New York pursuant to the provisions of section K51-36.0 of the administrative code of the city of New York, notwithstanding the definitions of the terms “employment”, “employer”, or “employee”, in subdivisions three, four and five of section two of this chapter.

2. Occupational diseases.  Compensation shall be payable for disabilities sustained or death incurred by an employee resulting from the following occupational diseases:

Nothing in paragraph thirty of this subdivision shall be construed to apply to any disability or death due to any disease described in paragraph twenty-nine of this subdivision.