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Workers' Compensation

Paraprofessionals, nurses, occupational and physical therapists, administrative titles and Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention Specialists (SAPIS), including subs, who have been injured or made sick on the job should file for Workers’ Compensation. In certain circumstances such as chronic illness associated with responsibilities, lab specialists and vocational teachers may also file for Workers’ Compensation.

Workers’ Compensation is a form of insurance, paid for in advance by your employer, which entitles you to full medical coverage and part of your salary for job-related injuries and illnesses. You are entitled to Workers’ Compensation no matter whose fault your injury or illness may be — so long as it was not caused by willful maliciousness and occurred on school property or in the normal course of performance of your work duties.

  • Medical
    Workers’ Compensation will pay all medical expenses — tests, hospitals, medicines, physical therapy, equipment, a home care attendant if essential, and transportation to and from doctors upon authorization from the New York City Law Department (Insurance Carrier) — even if you do not lose any time from work.
  • Financial
    If you are out of work for more than seven days as a result of your job-related injury or illness, Workers’ Compensation will pay approximately 2/3 of your gross wages lost for total disability. The rate for reimbursement of wages and sick time will be determined by the New York State Workers' Compensation Board based on the degree of disability and employee's rate of pay. Note that these seven days need not be consecutive days of absence; they can accumulate over time. Your eligibility for lost wages begins on the eighth day you are absent from work, unless your leave extends beyond 14 days; in that case, you may receive wage benefits from the first work day off the job. You will receive additional money if your injuries include permanent damage to a limb, facial scars, or loss of hearing or eyesight. 

Coronavirus and Workers' Comp

Employees who contract COVID-19 while working may be entitled to Workers' Compensation.

Whom at the UFT do I call if I have a specific question about Workers’ Comp?

Call the Workers’ Compensation Unit in the UFT Safety and Health Department at 212-510-6460.

What is Workers’ Compensation and who is eligible for Workers’ Comp benefits?

Workers’ Compensation is a form of insurance, paid for in advance by your employer, which entitles you to full medical coverage and part of your salary for job-related injuries and illnesses. You are entitled to Workers’ Compensation no matter whose fault your injury or illness may be with the exception of any acts willfully committed by claimant — so long as it occurred on school property or in the normal course of performance of your work duties. "Employer’s property" means the entire building, playground/s, authorized parking lots, sidewalk around the perimeter of the structure, and traveling between assignments including busing.

The following titles are eligible for Workers’ Comp: paraprofessionals, school nurses, occupational & physical therapists; substitutes; and any personnel who are not appointed to the Teachers’ Retirement System. Pedagogues injured or made sick on the job are covered by the Injury-in-the-Line-of-Duty provision of the UFT-DOE contract.

What forms do I need to file for Workers' Compensation?

You need to complete a Comprehensive Injury Report and return it to your principal within 24 hours. Make sure to tell the person attending to you that your injury or illness is work-related. Your doctor must complete an OP 198 Absence form, which you should file with your payroll secretary as soon as possible along with any doctor's notes, and file a C-4 Physician’s Report with the Workers’ Compensation Board. You’ll also need to complete a C-3 Employee Claim form, with the assistance of your doctor if necessary, and file it with the Workers’ Compensation Board as soon as possible but within two years of the injury. If necessary, you may also need to file a leave of absence form via SOLAS. It is the responsibility of the employer to submit the C2 form by documenting it in the Payroll Portal for you to receive an indexed carrier case number from the City of New York Law Department the insurance carrier for Workers’ Compensation recipients.

Find copies of these forms on our Workers' Compensation web page »

How to access Workers’ Compensation benefits

In order to access your rights and benefits under Workers’ Compensation, you must follow certain procedures:

  1. Unless your injury or illness prevents you, immediately notify your chapter leader and principal of any accident or other incident. All accidents should be reported — even if the injury is not obvious or is seemingly inconsequential.
  2. Complete a Comprehensive Injury Report and return it to your principal within 24 hours if it is at all possible.
  3. See a doctor as soon as possible. Make sure to tell the person attending to you that your injury or illness is work-related. Your doctor should provide a doctor's note with a diagnosis of injury and with a potential return-to-work date, if necessary, which you should file with your payroll secretary as soon as possible, and also a C-4 Physician’s Report, which he or she must file with the Workers’ Compensation Board.
  4. Complete a C-3 Employee Claim form, with the assistance of a doctor if necessary, and a C3.3 Limited Release of Health Information (HIPAA) form if there was a previous injury to the same body part(s)and file both with the Workers’ Compensation Board as soon as possible.
  5. If you have been the victim of an assault, complete a UFT Incident Report as soon as possible. You should also file a criminal complaint as soon as possible and contact the UFT Victim Support Program (VSP) at 212-598-6853.
  6. Complete a WCD-23 Employee’s Notice of Injury and file it with your school payroll secretary within 10 days.
  7. Complete a DP-2002 Election of Rate of Charge and file it with your school payroll secretary when applying for a SOLAS leave.

In some cases, the New York City Law Department insurance carrier will deny your request for compensation. In such cases, it is necessary to contact the Safety & Health Department at 212-510-6460 for further assistance. You may also need to obtain the services of an attorney.

In the meanwhile, you should apply for disability benefits if you are or will be out of work due to your injuries or illness. You will need to complete a DB 450 Disability Claim form to obtain these benefits.

Answers to some common questions about workers' compensation are available here. Please note that some information may have changed since the last publication.

Forms

  • Comprehensive Injury Report
    This form details the nature of your injuries. It should be turned in to your principal within 24 hours of your accident or illness.
  • Department of Education Occurrence Report
    Your principal must file this report within 24 hours of receiving it. You must sign to acknowledge seeing it and can add a statement.
  • UFT Incident Report
    Use this form to notify the UFT School Safety Department if you have been the victim of an assault.
  • Application for Leave of Absence (OP 198)
    You should complete this application via SOLAS.
  • WCD23 Employee’s Notice of Injury
    You should fill out this form as your statement of accident/injury.
  • Self-Service Online Leave Application
    Educational paraprofessionals should log into SOLAS for initial requests for leaves of absence as well as requests for extensions. Requests for extensions must be submitted immediately after the date of expiration of the current leave.
  • DP-2002 Election of Rate of Charge
    For your SOLAS leave application, this form is needed to elect the use of CAR-days or to receive Workers Compensation payments for lost wages.
  • C-3 Employee’s Claim
    You must Fill out this form to initiate your Workers’ Compensation claim. You should retain one copy, file a second with the Board, and provide a third to your legal representative.
  • C-3.3 Limited Release of Health Information (HIPAA)
    This form allows health care providers who have treated your previous injuries to release information to your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer.
  • C-4 Physician’s Report
    Your doctor must fill out this form at regular intervals — usually every 4-6 weeks — during your convalescence. It is used to determine your level of benefits — so it is very important that your doctor fills it out carefully.
  • RFA-1W (Request for Assistance by Injured Workers) 
    File this form and any attachments with the Workers' Compensation Board when you want the board to take a specific action in your claim, or if you need to alert the board to any problem or situation that is affecting your claim. Many of the most frequently requested actions/situations are listed as either compensation payment issues (items a through g), or medical issues (items h through l), but you are not limited to those listed.
  • C-257 Expense Reimbursement Form
    Use this form to claim out-of-pocket expenses related to your injury or illness.
  • DB-450 Disability Claim
    Complete this form to claim disability benefits only after your Workers’ Compensation claim has been rejected.

Other resources

Medical

Central Medical Services

City Med

Maximum Orthopedics

Northwell Health

Legal

Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano LLP, Attorneys at Law
Toll-free 24/7 at 800-692-3717