§ 89 — Rates for workers' compensation

§ 89. Rates for workers' compensation. 1. Employments and employees\nin the state fund shall be divided into such groups and classes as shall\nbe equitable based upon differences of industry or hazard for the\npurpose of establishing premium rates for workers' compensation\ninsurance, and for such purpose a system of merit rating may be employed\nwhich shall take account of the peculiar hazard of each individual risk.\nSuch premiums in the state fund shall be fixed at the lowest possible\nrates consistent with the maintenance of a solvent fund and of\nreasonable reserves and surplus.\n 2. Premiums for construction classification employers shall be\nsubject to a payroll limitation on each construction classification\nsubject to the following transition program. For purposes of this\nsection, "construction classification" shall mean employments classified\nunder sections two hundred twenty, two hundred forty and two hundred\nforty-one of the labor law, provided such employments are classified\nunder each of said sections, except that construction classification\nshall not include any employments engaged in the construction of one or\ntwo family residential housing.\n (a) For policies with rating anniversary dates after September\nthirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-nine and before October first, two\nthousand, an employer's payroll for premium computation purposes in the\naffected construction classifications shall be the actual weekly payroll\nper employee for the number of weeks employed subject to a maximum of\nnine hundred dollars per week per employee plus one-half of the\ndifference between the employer's total payroll and the limited payroll.\n (b) For policies with rating anniversary dates after September\nthirtieth, two thousand and before October first, two thousand one, an\nemployer's payroll for premium computation purposes in the affected\nconstruction classifications shall be the actual weekly payroll per\nemployee for the number of weeks employed subject to a maximum of nine\nhundred dollars per week per employee.\n (c) For policies with rating anniversary dates after September\nthirtieth, two thousand one and before October first, two thousand two,\nan employer's payroll for premium computation purposes in the affected\nconstruction classifications shall be the actual weekly payroll per\nemployee for the number of weeks employed subject to a maximum of eight\nhundred dollars per week per employee.\n (d) For policies with rating anniversary dates after September\nthirtieth, two thousand two, an employer's payroll for premium\ncomputation purposes in the affected construction classifications shall\nbe the actual weekly payroll per employee for the number of weeks\nemployed subject to a maximum of the greater of seven hundred fifty\ndollars per week or the weekly payroll amount upon which the maximum\nweekly benefit is based, per employee.\n 3. The base rates applicable to construction classifications as\ndefined in this subdivision shall be adjusted by the New York workers'\ncompensation rating board beginning October first, nineteen hundred\nninety-nine, to reflect the payroll limitations required by this\nsubdivision as they separately affect such rates for work actually\nperformed within each of the following geographic territories:\n (a) Territory 1 comprising the counties of the Bronx, Kings, New York,\nQueens, and Richmond;\n (b) Territory 2 comprising the counties of Dutchess, Nassau, Orange,\nPutnam, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester; and\n (c) Territory 3 comprising all other counties within the state.\n