Legal Question in Employment Law in New York

Re: Statue of limitations

Yes, there is a statute of limitations in New York for filing a workers compensation claim. Section 18 of the Workers Compensation statute provides that a written notice of injury must be filed with the employer within 30 days of the injury. Failure to file such notice will act as a bar to bringing the claim. However, there are several important exceptions to this rule. For example, failure to file a written notice is excused where the employer had actual knowledge of the accident or where the failure to file written notice does not prejudice the employer.

With regard to terminating employment, you should be aware that section 120 of the workers compensation law provides that where an employer terminates an employee because the employee made a workers comp claim (or knows that the employee is about to make one) the employer is guilty of discrimination. In such cases, the employee must be restored to his prior position and compensated for any lost wages as well as attorneys' fees incurred.