The employer's reporting duty
After you report a workplace injury that involves lost time beyond the day of the accident or requires medical treatment, your employer is required to report it to its insurance carrier, which in turn files with the Workers’ Compensation Board. The employer is not supposed to sit on a known injury.
Your employer must also have workers’ compensation coverage in the first place. If it does not, separate options exist, but most claims run through the employer’s carrier.
What the carrier must do
Once the carrier is on notice, it has to act: begin paying benefits if there is lost time and the claim is not disputed, or formally controvert the claim. New York expects prompt action – generally the first payment within about 18 days of the employer’s knowledge of the injury when lost time is involved.
You should also be given information about your rights and not be discouraged from filing. Pressure not to report is itself a warning sign.
If your employer won't cooperate
If your employer refuses to report the injury or tells you not to file, you do not need its permission – you can file your own Form C-3 directly with the Board. Keep your written notice and any messages showing you reported.
Retaliation for filing or testifying in a workers’ comp claim is prohibited in New York. If your report is ignored or you are punished for it, document everything and consider speaking with a licensed attorney.