BALCONY Urges Governor Spitzer to Sign Workers’ Comp Legislation

BALCONY urges New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer to sign the landmark Workers’ Compensation legislation passed Tuesday March 6th by the State legislature. BALCONY represents more than 500 New York businesses, labor unions, and trade associations.

“BALCONY strongly advocated for the new Workers Compensation Legislation, a breakthrough for our state, because it will help both business and labor,” said BALCONY Co-Chair Bruce Ventimiglia. “The new plan reduces insurance premiums for businesses, and provides an increased benefit for injured workers, as well as mandating higher criminal penalties for those companies which do not accurately report the number of workers they employ.”

“I know from experience that honest commerce suffers when practices like under-reporting workers become entrenched,” stated Mr. Ventimiglia, chairman of Saratoga Capital Management. “We also believe that small businesses, especially, need government action to lower costs of doing business, and this measure does just that. The reform of the New York State’s Workers’ Compensation law requiring that companies provide coverage for all workers is a positive step in the right direction toward leveling the playing field.”