By: Kelly O’Connor
The New York Workers’ Compensation Board released important information today regarding the Board’s response to future RFA-1LC and RFA-2 forms.
Forms RFA-1LC and RFA-2 include a statement at the bottom of the form requesting opposing parties certify that (a) no settlement of the issues was reached or (b) settlement of issues was reached and/or a discussion was attempted but no discussion was forthcoming after reasonable period of time.
Generally speaking, in the past, failure to complete the certification statement did not delay or otherwise impact the setting of a hearing pertaining to the RFA request.
As of the today, however, the Board will take “no action” on those RFAs which fail to complete the certification process. The Board will send correspondence notifying the parties that the certification process was incomplete and discussion of issues is necessary prior to requesting a hearing. Moving forward, we recommend completion of the certification statement in order to avoid any unnecessary delays in the adjudication of outstanding issues.
If you have any questions regarding the Board’s guidance on this issue, please do not hesitate to contact Vaughan Baio and Partners.
