NY A00391

Expands the definition of permanent total disability under workers' compensation law to include inability to perform the full range of sedentary work or approval for federal Social Security disability benefits resulting from a compensable accident or occupational disease.

Defines inability to perform full range of sedentary work as inability to exert up to ten pounds of force occasionally or one-third of the workday, or inability to lift, carry, push, pull, or move objects with negligible force frequently.

Specifies that inability to sit for at least six hours in an eight-hour day and occasionally walk or stand for no more than two hours in an eight-hour day constitute inability to perform sedentary work.

Requires consideration of non-exertional activities such as seeing, hand-manipulation, understanding, remembering, and carrying out simple instructions when assessing inability to perform unskilled sedentary work.

Applies to injuries arising on and after the effective date of the act, which takes effect immediately.