There is a rule at the Workers’ Compensation Board that almost nobody outside the practice knows about, and it is the reason an injured worker on Staten Island or in Brooklyn can open a claim, litigate it, and settle it without ever sitting in a lawyer’s conference room. The Board no longer requires an original handwritten signature on the forms that matter. It started as emergency relief in March 2020, when attorneys and claimants could not meet in person. On November 7, 2024, the Board made it permanent.
If you are hurt, out of work, and worried about how you are supposed to get to an office in the first place, that is the answer. You do not have to.
Which forms no longer need a wet signature
The relief covers a specific list of Board forms. These are the ones an injured worker is most likely to encounter:
- C-3, Employee Claim — the paper form that opens your case
- OC-400, Notice of Retainer and Substitution — the form that puts a lawyer on your case, or changes lawyers
- RFA-1W and RFA-1LC, Request for Further Action — the paper forms used to get your case back in front of a judge
- C-32 and C-32.1, Section 32 Waiver Agreement and Claimant Release — the settlement documents
- C-300.5, Stipulation, and C-312.5, Agreed Upon Findings and Awards — the documents that resolve issues without a full hearing
- PH-16.2, Pre-Hearing Conference Statement
- RB-89, RB-89.1, RB-89.2 and RB-89.3 — the Board review and Full Board review papers
- VDF-1, Loss of Wage Earning Capacity Vocational Data
- C-35, Extreme Hardship Redetermination Request
- C-62, Claim for Compensation in Death Case
- VF-1, VF-3, VF-62, VAW-1, VAW-3 and VAW-62 — the volunteer firefighter and volunteer ambulance worker forms
Read that list again and notice what is on it. The retainer is on it. The claim form is on it. The settlement is on it. There is no step in a New York workers’ compensation case that requires you to be in a room with your attorney holding a pen.
How you actually sign
The Board gives a represented claimant two ways to execute a covered form.
The first is a true electronic signature, one that complies with the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act and its regulations at 9 NYCRR Part 540. That is the familiar click-through signing service.
The second is simpler, and it is the one most clients end up using. You can indicate your approval of the document to your attorney “in another manner” — the Board’s own example is an email. You read the form, you email your lawyer that you approve it, and that is your execution of the document.
What makes that work is what the attorney has to do next. Your lawyer files the form with an attestation on firm letterhead, identifying the firm and its Board identifier, and certifying one of two things: that you signed electronically under ESRA, or that the attorney fully discussed the contents of the document with you, that you understood it, that you conveyed your approval, and that you were told the form would be submitted to the Board on your behalf. In the signature line on the form itself, the attorney types your name.
The Board suspended the signature requirements in 12 NYCRR § 300.17(d)(3) and § 300.5 using its authority under 12 NYCRR § 300.30.
The attestation is not a formality
It is worth understanding what your lawyer is putting his name to, because it protects you.
An attestation that you understood a document and approved it is a certification to a state agency. It cannot honestly be made after a voicemail and a forwarded PDF. Somebody has to actually go through the document with you, answer your questions, and be satisfied that you understood it before that attestation gets signed. That is especially true of a Section 32 waiver agreement, which ends your case permanently and is almost never undone once the Board approves it.
So the convenience is real, but it is not a shortcut around the conversation. It removes the commute, not the counseling.
What a remote case looks like at this firm
Put the signature rule together with the way the Board runs hearings and the picture is complete. Hearings are virtual — you appear by video, from home, from a phone if that is what you have. The forms come to you by email and go back the same way. Your medical records move between providers, the carrier and the Board electronically.
Two things about how we work matter more once the office visit disappears. The same associate attorney handles all of your hearings, rather than a different covering attorney each time, so the person on the screen knows your file. And Frank stays at the office instead of appearing at hearings, which means when you call with a question there is someone to talk to.
If you would rather come in, you are welcome at 1610 Richmond Road. Plenty of clients prefer to. The point is that it is your choice and not a requirement.
What still takes more than an email
A few things are outside this rule, and it is better to know them up front.
- Independent medical examinations. When the carrier sends you to its own doctor, you have to show up in person.
- Your own medical treatment. Your treating doctor’s reports are what carry your case, and those visits are real visits.
- eCase registration. If you want direct access to your own electronic case folder and you do not have a New York State driver license or non-driver ID, the registration form has to be printed, signed, notarized and sent to the Board. The FAQ hub covers how to get into eCase.
- A third-party lawsuit. If someone other than your employer caused your injury, that case runs on court rules, not Board forms, and its paperwork is its own subject.
Frequently asked questions
Is the electronic signature rule still in effect, or did it end with COVID?
It is permanent. The Board announced on November 7, 2024 that it had made the suspension of the original signature requirement permanent. It no longer depends on a state of emergency.
Can I really settle my case by email?
You can execute the settlement documents that way. The C-32 waiver agreement and the C-32.1 claimant release are both on the Board’s list, so your approval can be conveyed to your attorney electronically and filed with an attestation. The settlement itself still has to be reviewed and approved by the Board, and that has never been something you could do by email.
Do I have to come in to hire a lawyer?
No. The OC-400 Notice of Retainer is on the covered list, which means the retainer can be executed remotely the same way as anything else.
What if I do not have email?
Then we work out another way. The rule allows a claimant to indicate approval “in another manner” and gives email only as an example. Call the office and we will figure out what works for you.
Does signing electronically make the form easier for the carrier to challenge?
No. A form executed under this procedure and filed with the required attestation is a properly executed form. It carries the same weight as one signed in ink.
Talk to someone before you sign anything
Whether the document reaches you by email or across a desk, the question that matters is whether you understand what you are agreeing to. Call 718.701.2776 or 800.310.5520 for a free consultation. If you cannot get to Staten Island, you do not need to.
This page describes New York law in general terms. It is not legal advice about your claim, and reading it does not make us your attorneys.
