Albany, NY – Election Day 2013 marks a milestone event for labor reform in New York State history. On November 4, 1913, voters went to the polls to pass a constitutional amendment establishing a compulsory workers’ compensation law in New York, one of the first such acts in the nation.
On that day, the memory of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire two years earlier and its 146 victims weighed heavily on the outcome of a public referendum that established the workers’ compensation system in New York, and a means of protecting working men and women, and their survivors, against the dire consequences of industrial accidents.
The referendum gave the New York State Legislature authority to enact Article 1, Section 19, of the New York State Constitution – the Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1914. Among other provisions, the act created the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) so that workers’ comp. insurance would always be available to New York employers.
Blue and Gold
Coinciding with that historic vote, NYSIF has unveiled its 100th anniversary logo. The commemorative logo, designed in-house, departs from the current NYSIF red logo by switching to New York State blue and gold, with a classic ribbon reading, “100 Years, 1914-2014.”
NYSIF wrote its first workers’ compensation insurance policy on July 1, 1914, the day the act took effect.
“NYSIF is a New York State agency that has served its purpose for millions of New Yorkers,” Chief Executive Deputy Director Dennis J. Hayes said. “As it enters its 100th year of service, it remains a reliable source of workers’ compensation insurance for any New York business and provides a vital safety net for injured workers and their families.”
The Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the most deadly workplace event in New York history until September 11, 2001. The fire victims were mostly young, immigrant women. Their survivors received no compensation benefits. New York State had enacted an earlier compulsory workers’ compensation statute in 1910, the first in the nation, only to see it declared unconstitutional one day before the fire.
100 Years in Making
“For 100 years, NYSIF has fulfilled its mission to provide guaranteed workers’ compensation coverage for New York employers, and timely benefit payments for claimants,” Mr. Hayes said. “Over a century of history, NYSIF has responded to every test of its resiliency and emerged as an industry leader.”
According to the New York State Compensation Insurance Rating Board, NYSIF is the number one writer of workers’ compensation insurance in New York. Rating firm A.M. Best ranks NYSIF as the fifth largest workers’ compensation writer in the nation. Since 1950, NYSIF also is a writer of low cost, New York State disability benefits insurance, covering employees for off-the-job injuries and illnesses.
NYSIF will display the 100th anniversary logo on its website at nysif.com and at its office buildings statewide through 2014.
Source: NYSIF