Greenberg v. New York City Transit Authority, 8 N.Y.3d 141 (2007)
Workers’ Compensation Law § 120, which prohibits employer discrimination against employees claiming workers’ compensation, allows for predecision interest on back pay awards to fully compensate the wronged employee.
Summary
The New York Court of Appeals held that the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) has the authority to award predecision interest on back pay awards under Workers’ Compensation Law § 120. The claimant, Greenberg, was discriminated against for filing a worker’s compensation claim and was later awarded back pay. The court reasoned that the term “compensation” in § 120 should be interpreted broadly to fully compensate victims of discrimination, similar to how it’s applied in human rights cases. This decision clarifies the scope of remedies available to employees who experience discrimination for exercising their rights under the Workers’ Compensation Law.
Facts
Greenberg, an employee of the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), filed a workers’ compensation claim. Subsequently, Greenberg alleged that the NYCTA discriminated against him for claiming worker’s compensation benefits. The Workers’ Compensation Board ultimately determined that the NYCTA had indeed discriminated against Greenberg in violation of Workers’ Compensation Law § 120. The WCB ordered the NYCTA to reinstate Greenberg and awarded him back pay. However, the WCB did not award predecision interest on the back pay award.
Procedural History
The Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) initially ruled in favor of Greenberg, finding that the NYCTA had discriminated against him. The WCB awarded back pay but denied predecision interest. The Appellate Division affirmed the WCB’s decision. Greenberg appealed to the New York Court of Appeals, arguing that he was entitled to predecision interest on his back pay award. The Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division’s order, holding that the WCB has the authority to award predecision interest under Workers’ Compensation Law § 120.
Issue(s)
Whether Workers’ Compensation Law § 120 authorizes the Workers’ Compensation Board to award predecision interest on back pay awards to employees who have been discriminated against for claiming workers’ compensation benefits.
Holding
Yes, because the term “compensation” in Workers’ Compensation Law § 120 should be interpreted broadly to fully compensate victims of discrimination. This is consistent with the remedial purpose of the statute and aligns with the interpretation of similar language in human rights laws.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals reasoned that the purpose of Workers’ Compensation Law § 120 is to protect employees from discrimination for claiming workers’ compensation benefits. To effectuate this purpose, the term “compensation” in § 120 must be interpreted broadly to include predecision interest. The court drew an analogy to the Human Rights Law, where predetermination interest is allowed to fully compensate victims of discrimination. The Court stated, “The remedial nature of the statute evinces a legislative intent to compensate fully victims of employment discrimination.” The Court also noted the long delay in awarding back pay in this case, stating, “The inexplicably long delay in this case only underscores the need to make victims of discrimination whole.”
The dissenting opinion argued that Section 20 of the Workers’ Compensation Law specifies that “[e]xcept as provided in section twenty-seven of this article, all awards of the board shall draw simple interest from thirty days after the making thereof’ (Workers’ Compensation Law § 20 [1]). The dissent contended that the majority was, in effect, rewriting the statute to achieve more ‘fairness’ than the Legislature chose to enact. Read, J. noted that it is highly significant that the Workers’ Compensation Board has consistently taken the position that predecision interest is not an element of the compensation available under section 120.