Overview
The Office of the Advocate for Business is the liaison between New York’s business community and the Workers’ Compensation Board, giving employers one place to contact for answers to their questions about workers’ compensation, disability benefits and Paid Family Leave.
The Advocate for Business:
- Works with employers (particularly small business), business associations and employer groups to hear, report and offer solutions to issues they’ve been unable to resolve elsewhere;
- Assists businesses with insurance coverage problems and compliance with the Workers’ Compensation Law; and
- Educates employers and government personnel on their responsibilities and how the New York State workers’ compensation system works.
Free Webinar Sessions
The Advocate for Business has been hosting monthly webinars to educate business owners/employers on the basics of the workers' compensation system, including insurance types, coverage requirements, and employers' obligations under the law.
Each one-hour session also covers:
- Who does and does not need coverage;
- How and when to report an injury or illness (including COVID-19);
- Considerations when hiring independent contractors, laborers, and domestic workers;
- Tips for lowering premiums; and
- Penalties and where to go for assistance with them.
Sessions are free and there is time at the end for questions. Registration is required. To register for an upcoming session, visit the Webinars for Employers page.
Don't want to wait? You can also view a recording of a previous session:
- What Business Owners Need to Know - June 2022: Video
Ask the Advocate
In this ongoing feature, the Board's Advocate for Business addresses timely and/or frequently asked questions from business owners and employers.
Featured Q&A:
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New! Dear Advocate: Do you have to have insurance in place prior to hiring an employee, or can you apply and have an employee start as soon the application is in?
As soon as you decide to have employees and before you have any employee on your payroll, you should have a workers’ compensation insurance policy. You never want to have an employee first and then get the insurance. The moment someone starts working for you, you need to have workers’ compensation insurance coverage.
Do you have a question for the Advocate for Business?
Check out past Q&As Ask a Question
Contact the Advocate for Business
You can contact the Advocate for Business for general information, assistance with a workers’ compensation, disability benefits or Paid Family Leave question or issue, or to schedule educational session.
- Phone: (518) 486-3311
- Email: advocatebusiness@wcb.ny.gov
Please be prepared with the following information:
- Complete corporate name
- Contact person name, phone number and email address
- Insurer and policy number
- Federal employer identification number or WCB employer number
- Brief description of request or the problem and any correspondence received.